In-situ resources for infrastructure construction on Mars: A review

Abstract

• Possible in-situ resources for infrastructure construction on Mars were proposed. • Feasibility of in-situ energy exploitation and intelligent construction was proposed. • The Martian soil, basalt and Martian concrete are construction materials options. • Construction materials are expected to withstand Martian environment conditions. • Construction needs combination of in-situ energy and intelligent construction technologies. It is widely proposed that Mars will be the next destination for human to expand colonization. However, building up a habitat requires collective work from multiple disciplinaries of which engineering is an indispensable part. Similar to infrastructure construction on the earth, the technical issues of raw material, space construction technologies has to be addressed before human inhabitation. Based on the history of Mars exploration missions and a series of current Mars exploration results, this paper introduces the environment conditions on Mars, reviews the research of the in-situ resources which can be further utilized for infrastructure construction on Mars and proposes feasible infrastructure construction technologies. This paper provides an overview of in-situ construction material resources, possible construction methods and requirements for materials in extreme environment, which can be a valuable reference for future Mars exploration and possible infrastructure construction on the Mars.