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You need to transport a seed factory.[1] The clever thing about the Mars Colonial Transport is that it includes solar panels to generate electricity as well as
by Teever 10y ago
You need to transport a seed factory.[1] The clever thing about the Mars Colonial Transport is that it includes solar panels to generate electricity as well as the machinery needed to produce methane and oxygen which serves as fuel for a return voyage.
The really cool thing about this is that methane can be used as a feedstock to produce many plastics and the oxygen can be used for humans to breathe.
The MCT is a prototype for a seed factory style Von Neumann probe.
[1] https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Seed_Factories https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Seed_Factories
- elsonrodriguez 10y agoI'm skeptical about how feasible it is to send enough solar panels to Mars in order to power a base. Everyone's keeping quiet about the inevitable role of RTGs or fission reactors in early human Mars exploration. Solar will come either via an abundance of payloads delivered to Mars as things ramp up, or via panels produced on Mars itself.
- Teever 10y agoMusk briefly commented on nuclear during the MCT announcement. He said it was ultimately dependent on environmentalists on Earth allowing it. Other viable methods for power generation that are amenable to in-situ production include geothermal heat loops and solar concentrators.