An inflatable habitat designed for explorers on the moon or Mars is headed to Antarctica for a test run.

The habitat — engineered by ILC Dover and resembling an inflatable backyard bounce for children — will make its South Pole debut early next year. NASA demonstrated the inflatable prototype on Wednesday at ILC Dover's facility in Frederica, Del.

"We deflated [and inflated] it in about 10 minutes," Larry Toups, habitat lead for NASA's Constellation Program Lunar Surface Systems Office, said in an interview.