I don’t think there will ever be domed habitats on other planets. For anything on Mars or the moon, you’re going to have to be underground due to cosmic rays.
But there always be specialized industrial or scientific use cases. Salt domes — where they store salt after mining it — are one example. A dome is just the best shape to store something like tons of salt. There’s also stuff like local weather radar stations where a dome is the ideal shape since you get a 360° of the sky. Radar isn’t new technology so, unlike a cutting edge observatory that rotates, it’s probably just cheaper to build a dome and buy however much radar equipment is needed.
There’s also decorative uses (like some churches, mosques, etc.) and sports venues in places with inhospitable climates during the season. It seems like modern stadia (at least in the U.S.) go with a retractable roof but places with bad weather during the specific sport’s season, I would assume it’s cheaper to have a permanent roof.
I don’t think there will ever be domed habitats on other planets. For anything on Mars or the moon, you’re going to have to be underground due to cosmic rays.
But there always be specialized industrial or scientific use cases. Salt domes — where they store salt after mining it — are one example. A dome is just the best shape to store something like tons of salt. There’s also stuff like local weather radar stations where a dome is the ideal shape since you get a 360° of the sky. Radar isn’t new technology so, unlike a cutting edge observatory that rotates, it’s probably just cheaper to build a dome and buy however much radar equipment is needed.
There’s also decorative uses (like some churches, mosques, etc.) and sports venues in places with inhospitable climates during the season. It seems like modern stadia (at least in the U.S.) go with a retractable roof but places with bad weather during the specific sport’s season, I would assume it’s cheaper to have a permanent roof.