The First Mars Colony Could Be 3D Printed From Red Planet Dust

[Judi Lynn]

By Tia Ghose, Senior Writer | April 14, 2017 03:25pm ET


A new technique could allow the first humans on Mars to 3D print everything from tools to temporary housing out of a tough rubber-like material — using only Martian dust.

The method could enable the first humans who set foot on the Red Planet to print the tools and housing they need to survive without having to lug all the supplies aboard their spaceship.

"For places like other planets and moons, where resources are limited, people would need to use what is available on that planet in order to live," Ramille Shah, a materials scientist at Northwestern University in Illinois, said in a statement. "Our 3D paints really open up the ability to print different functional or structural objects to make habitats beyond Earth." [Sending Humans to Mars: 8 Steps to Red Planet Colonization]

Any trip to Mars would require spaceships big enough to carry much more fuel and supplies than past spacecraft could, but care packages from Mother Earth won't be enough for humans to make it on an alien planet. Almost all schemes for colonizing the Red Planet (or for colonizing the moon) require that at least some of the supplies for the expeditions come from the local environment.

More:
http://www.livescience.com/58695-3d-inks-made-from-martian-dust.html?utm_source=notification

[Beartracks]

1. Fascinating.

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[Warren DeMontague]

2. Makes way more sense than bringing all that stuff from Earth.