NASA imagined what humanity in space would look like back in the 1970s and it looks a lot like what we see in film today. Each of these concepts are approximately the size of a Californian beach town, and are self-contained habitats with artificial gravity, artificial weather, and are imagined in three types of colony: toroidal (donut shaped), sphere, and cylinder.

Toroidal – Population 10,000–140,000

Toroidal cutaway

Toroidal interior

Toroidal under construction

Another Toroidal model

Bernal Spheres – Population 10,000–30,000

Bernal Sphere interior

Bernal Sphere cutaway

Bernal Sphere agricultural model

Bernal Sphere under construction

Bernal Sphere model

Cylindrical Colonies – Population: Over One Million

Cylinder Interior

Cylinder – View from one end

Cylinder during solar eclipse