Colonization of Mars: future habitats printed in 3D?

March is still a long way off, but that does not dampen the enthusiasm of the NASA which continues to work on a future and distant colonization of the red planet. And because you have to start somewhere, the American space agency launched the NASA’s International 3D Printed Habitat Challengea sort of competition for the best 3D printed Martian habitat projects.

Among the few files selected, we note in particular the concept of a colony designed by the design company Hassel Studio in collaboration with engineers from Eckersley O’Callaghan (EOC). The protective shell of these Martian modules would be 3D printed in Martian regolith, a readily available material since it is composed mainly of loose earth and Martian rock. We note here that the idea is not new: the ESA has already imagined the project of a lunar colony printed in 3D with regolith.

3D printing would be provided by an armada of specialized robots capable of operating in a “herd”. These robots would of course be sent to Mars before the arrival of the first Martian settlers. On the other hand, the astronauts would be responsible for “furnishing” the interior of the colony, in particular with inflatable Pods. These 6 residential pods will have a very specific function: storage, medical center, private quarters, gym, laboratory, greenhouse, workshop, nothing but functionality in short. Other projects have been selected by NASA, which we will not fail to present to you soon…