The allocation between the industrial products made on Mars and those which are imported from Earth is influenced by two factors: the price of interplanetary transport and the Foundation doctrine of autonomy. To summarize, most products whose production price is significantly higher than $ 500 / kg are imported, with the exception of those which appear on the list of critical products. The latter is established by democratic vote on the basis of compromises between the price level, the need for the product and the human resources available for starting a new industry. As a result, the vast majority of the industry in Mars relates to relatively low-tech products when compared to Earth standards: production of primary resources, the construction sector and the manufacture of heavy and strategic equipment. A gradual rise in the technological level has occurred, sometimes for initial reasons of image. In this register, the success of the Foundation's X33M “Albatross” is very telling.
Note: this section will not deal with the case of agricultural products and energy production, sectors which are the subject of specific articles in our dossier, and to which we refer the curious reader. The main raw material produced on Mars is water. For the most part, it is extracted from large surface ice water open-pit mines. This water ice is abundant in Arkadia and also present near Surya, in Medusae Fossae, but with a much higher level of contamination. The treatment of ground up regolith resulting from the water extraction process makes it possible to produce other raw materials: sintered regolith bricks, concrete, structural steel and cables, glass AresShield, and other products used in industry. External concrete uses sulfur as a chemical binder, but the availability of some calcium silicate deposits favors the alternate minerals. As a Martian will tell you, nothing smells quite as bad as wet Sulfur concrete. Large atmospheric processing plants separate the main gases from the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is separated first, by compression and cooling, to be used for the production of propellant using the Sabatier reaction. Alternatively, carbon monoxide production is intended for the reduction of iron oxide into iron and steel. Nitrogen and argon, in approximately equal parts, are used for the atmosphere of the habitats. They are mostly separated out independently and locally from the CO2 process using an energy efficient adsorption process, as the propellant production no longer provides sufficient inert gases for the build-up atmospheres of the fast-growing habitats. An important part of the nitrogen is used in the production of nitrates intended for fertilizing crops (via, for example, Haber-Bosch reaction and newer plasma based processes). Water vapor is also recovered, but the production of water by this way is tiny compared to the needs of the colony. A wide variety of plastics are produced from methane. Plastic is however avoided if possible, because its resistance to ultraviolet light is poor its energy cost is significant, and methane often turns out to have more cost effective uses.
The production of raw materials from local resources using principles of In-Situ Resources Utilization (ISRU) has been from the start of the settlements on Mars a a rich research vector, which has produced both local successes and processes applicable back on Earth. Some of these initiatives have been able to yield significant dividends, others have been open-sourced, such as the MarsProof (“Tough enough for Mars!”) project by the association Federation Open Space Makers and which is at the origin of to the well known miner’s Guild of today. Indeed, the label “Earth ISRU” has appeared in reaction to the advantages, demonstrated on Mars, of small locally produced runs of high technology fabricated products using fabs and 3D printers.
Table production volumes (earth years)
tonne / yr PJ / yr
Food 1 100 000 360
Biomass 1 200 000 360
CH4 propellant 72 000 6
Water 75 000 000 40
Structural steel 1 000 000 40
Construction Concrete 8 000 000 20
Habitat services 120
Solar panels 150 000 150
Others 500
The nature of Martian housing, light pressure vessels subject to high tension loads and massive construction elements to absorb radiation, creates an important need for construction materials and operations. Combined with the strong growth of the Martian population, this leads to making the construction sector on of the main industrial sector of Mars. Just as the production of solar panels has been streamlined as much as possible, the production of protective enclosures has been the subject of a great optimization: automatic concrete batch plants, stone yards, transporters, metal spinners and fab units. This optimization has always been subject to the respect of the architectural principles aimed at the greatest versatility of modular elements, to allow creativity to express itself at the local level, and to prevent any risk of monotony in an artificial environment.
Recycling of materials is intensive, because Martians are acutely aware of the value of raw materials and of the energy benefits of recycling planned from conception. Don't they drink recycled water and breathe in equally recycled air? An interesting anecdote concerns the choice of stainless steel as the standard grade for habitat manufacturing. This choice was made in line with the choice of the SpaceX Starship hull material, with the aim of recycling end-of-life vehicles. No source of materials has been overlooked to reduce the costs and efforts to build this new world.
Industry is largely dominated by the needs of the agricultural sector: cultivation and hydroponics equipment, light sources, and more generally the needs related to production, distribution and energy storage. District workshops include small, versatile productions units: plastic, metal or ceramic 3D printing, rapid prototyping and other automated machining equipment, making small series production economically possible. In addition, a substantive activity is related to construction and robot maintenance. The use of open source models is encouraged whenever relevant to reduce engineering costs. A certain emulation exists between makers on Earth to produce equipment usable on Mars, because it is a consecration to see his model selected by many districts of the Red Planet, even for free.
Industries on Mars are gradually diversifying their production, and gradually reducing the planet's dependence on high technology from Earth. Foundation has recently succeeded in making reliable and deploying a local production of integrated circuits, using Minimal Fab type units. The production of SSTO type interplanetary transport vehicles such as the 'Albatross' series is also a great source of pride.
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