Faced with a gloomy property market here on Earth, Swedish students are designing a robot to erect a one-room house on the Moon.

The class, led by robotics professor Lars Asplund at Mälardalen University, posted a video of the prototype robot, nicknamed Roony, last week. (Skip to 0:39 seconds to see the robot build a prototype.)

Their collaborator, artist Mikael Genberg, has built variations of a traditional red Swedish house with white trim in other unusual locations, including one partially submerged in a lake and another up in a tree, both of which double as hotels.

His ‘Luna Resort’ concept dates back a few years. Genberg told the BBC in 2006 that he was aiming for a 2011 launch date and that he had the support of the Swedish Space Corporation. The 10 square meter house could be in place on the moon by 2012, according to a statement released today, though the statement does not specify a launch vehicle.