Abstract

Although we have seen that Mars has little (if not) water for a human colonization on a large scale, it still offers many opportunities for future explorations. These are related to the potential richness of its minerals, both on the surface and its subsurface, and a challenging environment where to test technological solutions for the exploitation of inhospitable worlds. We explore new methodologies for a drier extraction of minerals, with respect to current methods used in the mining industry on Earth, and existing concepts of human colony based on in-situ resource utilization (ISRU). 3D printing techniques will allow construction of buildings from the volcanic materials available on the surface of Mars.