Mars ISRU is humanity’s way of figuring out how to live off the land on the Red Planet. We’re talking about turning local stuff into the basics we need, like fuel and air.
By doing this, we skip hauling huge loads from Earth. That’s really the only way Mars missions make sense, budget-wise.
In-situ resource utilization, or ISRU, basically means grabbing whatever you can find on Mars and turning it into something useful for astronauts. It’s a shift in thinking—less dependency on Earth, more independence out there.
Back in 1978, Ash, Dowler, and Varsi published a paper that changed everything. They realized that sending all the propellant needed for a Mars return trip from Earth just wasn’t going to work.
They pointed out Mars’ carbon dioxide atmosphere as the main resource. Their idea? Freeze CO2 out of the air using refrigeration.
They also saw water in Martian soil as a second big resource.
Their research led to the focus on oxygen and methane propellant production for Mars ascent vehicles. That combo is still at the heart of NASA’s and SpaceX’s Mars plans.
NASA’s been tweaking these ideas for over 40 years. The latest Mars mission designs use both atmospheric CO2 capture and water pulled from hydrated soils.
Mars ISRU tackles the huge mass problem that makes Mars missions so tough. If we had to send everything from Earth, we’d need rockets bigger than anything we’ve got.
Propellant production is the big one. Mars Ascent Vehicles need a lot of fuel to bring crews back up. Making that fuel on Mars means we don’t have to ship it millions of miles.
ISRU covers more than just fuel. These systems can make oxygen to breathe and water for drinking or cooling equipment.
NASA wants these systems running before astronauts even get there. The idea is to let robots fill up tanks and stash supplies for months, so everything’s ready when the crew arrives.
The Mars 2020 rover carries MOXIE, a test ISRU device that turns CO2 from the air into oxygen. It’s small, but it’s teaching us a lot about how this might work on a bigger scale.
Mars and the Moon need different ISRU strategies, since their environments are so different. Each place comes with its own set of headaches and perks.
Mars has a lot of atmospheric resources—the Moon, not so much. Mars’ air is packed with CO2, which is perfect for making oxygen and fuel. There’s also water ice in the soil and underground.
On the Moon, ISRU is mostly about digging up water ice from dark craters at the poles. No atmosphere there, so you can’t pull off the same tricks as on Mars.
Mars ISRU gear has to deal with dust storms and wild temperature swings. The Moon’s polar regions don’t really have those issues, but Mars offers a wider mix of raw materials.
Both places need similar production rates for crews, so NASA uses the Moon to test out Mars tech. It’s a good training ground for robots and processing systems.
Timelines are wildly different, though. We can send stuff to the Moon in a few days, but Mars crews have to wait over two years for a ride home. That means they’ve got to be way more self-reliant.
Mars is a weird place. The air is super thin and mostly CO2, but the planet’s got a surprising stash of minerals and water if you know where to look.
That mix of resources and harsh conditions creates both opportunities and headaches for anyone trying to live there.
Mars’ air is almost all carbon dioxide (95.3%). There’s a bit of argon (1.6%) and nitrogen (1.9%) too. That’s actually a good thing for oxygen production with ISRU tech.
CO2 is everywhere. NASA’s MOXIE experiment on the Perseverance rover already proved you can turn it into oxygen using solid oxide electrolysis.
There are also trace amounts of water vapor, methane, and a few other gases. These levels change with the seasons as Mars’ orbit and polar ice come into play.
Atmospheric pressure is tiny—just 0.6% of Earth’s. ISRU systems have to work harder to collect and process gases in such a thin atmosphere.
Mars swings wildly in temperature—from -195°F to 70°F (-125°C to 20°C). That’s brutal on equipment and affects what resources you can get.
Dust storms are a real problem. Sometimes they last for months and can cut solar power by 40%.
A Martian day is just a bit longer than ours, but temps can jump by as much as 170°F (100°C) between day and night. That kind of stress wears out hardware fast.
Radiation is a big issue—it’s about 100 times higher than on Earth. The thin air and no magnetic field mean you need serious shielding for both people and machines.
Seasons matter, too. In winter, CO2 can freeze at the poles and change the planet’s air pressure.
Mars regolith is loaded with iron oxides, silicates, and sulfates. You can use these for building stuff or extracting metals.
That famous red color? It’s from iron oxide dust all over the place.
There’s a ton of water ice underground, especially near the poles and in some mid-latitude spots. Radar has picked up ice layers several meters deep.
Certain areas, like Juventae Chasma and Meridiani Planum, have hydrated minerals. These could be hotspots for water extraction.
Salt deposits in places like Utopia Planitia offer both water and handy chemicals for life support. Some of these salty brines stay liquid even when it’s freezing.
You can use the regolith for more than just mining—think radiation shielding, 3D printing, or even growing food.
Mars missions really depend on three main ways of turning local stuff into supplies. First, you grab CO2 from the air for oxygen and fuel. Then, you dig into the soil for water and building materials.
Mars’ air is about 96% carbon dioxide, so that’s what you go after first. NASA’s MOXIE on Perseverance has already shown you can turn that CO2 into oxygen.
Temperature swing adsorption looks like the best bet for large-scale CO2 capture. Basically, you use zeolite beds that soak up CO2 when cold and let it go when heated. You keep switching between these states to keep the process going.
Other gas separation tricks include:
Some systems combine air capture with pulling water vapor out of the soil. That way, you get more resources at once.
Martian soil isn’t just dirt—it’s full of water ice, minerals, and building materials. Excavators need to handle the gritty, abrasive soil and work in dusty, low-pressure conditions.
Processing methods are pretty straightforward:
A lot of Martian soil has 2-5% water by weight. Some of it’s locked in minerals, some is just plain ice. You usually need to heat the soil up to 200-500°C to get the water out.
NASA’s RASSOR robot is designed to dig and haul regolith without much human help. That’s key, since you can’t joystick robots from Earth in real time.
Getting water on Mars means tapping into a few different sources and using several methods. There’s a bit of water vapor in the air, which you can pull out by condensation and filtering.
Main water sources:
If you run water through electrolysis, you split it into hydrogen and oxygen. It takes a lot of power, but you get both air to breathe and hydrogen for fuel. The hydrogen can react with CO2 using the Sabatier process to make methane.
You need to clean the water, though. Martian water is laced with perchlorates and other junk. Multi-stage filters and ion exchange resins help make it safe for people and machines.
Thermal extraction works by heating up soil in sealed tanks. Water vapor condenses on chilled surfaces, then you collect it. This works for both ice and water locked in minerals.
Mars’ atmosphere is 95% carbon dioxide, so it’s just begging to be turned into oxygen. Several tech options can do this, providing both air to breathe and oxidizer for rockets.
MOXIE is the first real proof that we can make oxygen on another planet. NASA sent it aboard the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover.
It uses solid oxide electrolysis to turn CO2 into oxygen. MOXIE first made oxygen on April 20, 2021, which is honestly a pretty big deal.
MOXIE’s Stats:
MOXIE has run 11 times as of August 2022. It works day or night, through different seasons.
But for real Mars missions, we’ll need much bigger systems—something that can make 2-3 kilograms of oxygen every hour. That’s a massive jump from what MOXIE does now.
Solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOEC) are the main tech behind making oxygen on Mars. They split CO2 into oxygen and carbon monoxide at high heat.
You heat the CO2 to about 800°C. At that point, the molecules break apart over a nickel-ceramic cathode.
The steps go like this:
A scandia-stabilized zirconia electrolyte lets only oxygen ions through to the anode. Those ions join up to make O2, which you collect and store.
Carbon monoxide and leftover CO2 get vented as waste. You end up with both breathable oxygen and oxidizer for rockets.
Water electrolysis offers another way to produce oxygen by tapping into subsurface ice deposits. Mars hides a lot of water ice in its polar areas and beneath the surface.
With this process, an electrical current splits water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. It works at lower temperatures than CO2 electrolysis, so it needs less energy.
Advantages of water electrolysis:
But there are some challenges:
Water electrolysis can work alongside atmospheric CO2 processing. The hydrogen you get from electrolysis reacts with CO2 to make methane rocket fuel in the Sabatier reaction.
Future Mars missions might use both methods at once. Atmospheric processing can provide a steady oxygen supply, while water electrolysis becomes more efficient when there’s accessible ice.
Mars missions need a ton of fuel for getting back to Earth, so making propellant on Mars becomes critical if we want to keep costs down. The main focus right now is turning Martian CO2 and water into rocket fuels like methane and oxygen.
In situ propellant production takes Martian resources and turns them into rocket fuel—no need to send everything from Earth. The most proven method uses solid oxide CO2 electrolysis (SOCE) to pull oxygen out of Mars’ CO2-rich air.
This oxygen-only strategy means you still have to bring methane fuel from Earth, but you make the oxidizer locally. That cuts the payload for Mars Ascent Vehicle missions from 30 tons down to just 7.5 tons.
Some advanced setups combine a few different processes:
NASA’s Mars Architecture Team looked into ISRU systems that could crank out hundreds of tons of LO2/LCH4 propellants. Big operations like that would let people stay longer and support multiple launches.
Biological approaches are on the table too. Engineered microorganisms might convert Martian CO2 into fuels like 2,3-butanediol, which actually needs less oxygen to burn compared to regular hydrocarbons.
Methane (CH4) is the main hydrocarbon fuel for Mars propellant production. It’s got solid performance—specific impulse hits 459 seconds, which works well for Mars Ascent Vehicles.
The Sabatier process combines Martian CO2 with hydrogen gas to make methane. You get both CH4 fuel and water out of it, but you still need more oxygen for full combustion.
Key methane production advantages:
Alternative hydrocarbon synthesis looks at fuels with oxygen in them, so you need less oxidizer. Fuels like 2,3-butanediol keep the oxygen-to-fuel ratio lower but still give decent performance.
Mars’ lower gravity helps these alternative fuels work well, even though they pack less energy. When ISRU systems make both fuel and oxidizer, the 4:1 oxygen-to-methane ratio becomes easier to handle.
Some advanced biological systems could produce hydrocarbons straight from CO2 using engineered cyanobacteria and fermentation. Still, those methods need a lot more development before they’re ready for Mars.
Mars ISRU depends on three main chemical processes. These turn Mars’ natural resources into oxygen, water, and fuel. The reverse water-gas shift reaction makes oxygen and carbon monoxide from CO2. The Sabatier process creates methane and water for fuel production and life support.
The reverse water-gas shift (RWGS) reaction mixes carbon dioxide and hydrogen to get carbon monoxide and water vapor. It runs at 400-800°C and uses a metal catalyst like iron or nickel.
Chemical equation: CO₂ + H₂ → CO + H₂O
Mars’ air is 95% carbon dioxide, so this reaction fits perfectly. RWGS takes less energy than traditional electrolysis. The water you get can be split to make more oxygen for breathing and rocket fuel.
This process works well even in Mars’ low-pressure atmosphere. Engineers can condense out the water vapor and separate it from the carbon monoxide. RWGS lays the groundwork for more advanced fuel production.
NASA’s MOXIE experiment showed similar CO₂ conversion on the Perseverance rover. RWGS gives you both oxygen for life and carbon monoxide for further reactions.
The Sabatier reaction combines carbon dioxide with hydrogen to make methane and water. It runs at 300-400°C and needs a nickel or ruthenium catalyst.
Chemical equation: CO₂ + 4H₂ → CH₄ + 2H₂O
Methane is a great rocket fuel when paired with liquid oxygen. The International Space Station already uses the Sabatier process to recycle carbon dioxide from the crew. This tech can scale up for Mars.
The reaction produces water as a bonus, which colonists can drink or split into hydrogen and oxygen. Mars missions might bring hydrogen from Earth at first, then make it locally with water electrolysis. The process helps close the loop for fuel and life support.
Key advantages:
Carbon dioxide electrolysis splits CO₂ into oxygen and carbon monoxide using electricity. The process needs high temperatures (usually 800-900°C) and special ceramic electrolyte cells.
Chemical equation: 2CO₂ → 2CO + O₂
Solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOEC) handle this job best on Mars. They deliver pure oxygen without extra catalysts or steps. Colonists can use the oxygen for breathing or store it as rocket oxidizer.
You get carbon monoxide too, which can feed into more reactions or serve as industrial feedstock. High temperatures make engineering tricky, but they boost efficiency. Modern ceramics can take the heat and resist corrosion.
Plasma-enhanced electrolysis could lower energy needs. New research shows microwave plasmas might improve oxygen yields over old-school methods. These systems could work better in Mars’ tough environment.
Mars ISRU systems need to pull carbon dioxide from the planet’s dusty air while keeping sensitive equipment safe from contamination. Advanced filtration technologies stop particles from clogging up oxygen production gear.
Mars throws some unique filtration headaches at engineers. The air is full of dust that can mess up delicate equipment like solid oxide electrolyzers.
HEPA filters keep ISRU systems safe from dust contamination. These filters have to work in Mars’ thin atmosphere—just 0.6% of Earth’s pressure. The thin air changes how dust moves through the filters.
Dust builds up over time and increases pressure across the filters. If it gets too high, compressors can’t push enough CO2 through for oxygen production. That hurts the efficiency of the system.
The Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment (MOXIE) uses a HEPA filter with baffles. This setup knocks out bigger wind-blown particles and catches the fine dust that threatens electrochemical parts.
Researchers test filters under Mars-like conditions in the lab. They use wind tunnels and dust simulants to mimic the real thing.
Lab tests show that, at 10.3 mbar CO2 pressure and 3 meters per second wind, filters grab about 0.19 milligrams of dust per square meter per hour.
Filter pressure drop behaves differently on Mars. The low pressure means filters work outside their usual flow regime. On Mars, pressure drop rises with atmospheric pressure, but on Earth, it doesn’t change much.
CO2 collection systems need smart filtration design to keep flow rates up. Engineers try out different filter shapes, baffle setups, and materials to get the best results for long Mars missions.
Mars ISRU systems need to blend atmospheric processing equipment with soil excavation tech to build reliable propellant plants. Designers have to juggle power needs, processing capacity, and backup systems for both robotic and future human missions.
A Mars ISRU plant is really a bunch of subsystems working together to turn raw Martian stuff into useful products. The atmospheric subsystem grabs CO2 from Mars’ thin air using refrigeration or solid oxide electrolyzers.
Power generation is the backbone of the whole operation. Nuclear reactors like NASA’s Kilopower provide steady energy, no matter the dust storms or seasons. Solar panels can back things up when the sun’s out.
Water extraction and purification systems pull water from Martian soil by heating and condensing it. They need good filters to keep contaminants out and make sure the water is clean for electrolysis.
The propellant subsystem mixes CO2 with water through the Sabatier process to make methane and oxygen. Storage tanks keep these cryogenic fuels cold using active cooling systems.
Mission planners have to size every subsystem to fit production goals and available power. Refueling a Mars ascent vehicle takes about 30 tons of propellant over 500 days.
Modern ISRU tech combines atmospheric and soil processing into one system. They share power, thermal management, and controls, which cuts mass and boosts reliability.
The Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment (MOXIE) on Perseverance shows small-scale atmospheric processing. Full-size systems will add soil digging and water extraction to the mix.
Soil processing gear includes excavators like NASA’s RASSOR, which dig and move regolith to the processing plant. Heating systems pull water vapor out of soil at up to 900°C.
Integrated systems use waste heat from atmospheric processing to warm up the soil extraction equipment. That thermal sharing bumps up energy efficiency by 15-20% compared to separate setups.
Control systems watch over both atmospheric and soil processes at the same time. They adjust production rates depending on what’s available and how full the storage tanks are. These automated controls mean less need for people to babysit the system during long Mars stays.
Planning a human mission to Mars isn’t simple—it’s a crazy web of resource production, transportation, and risk management. You’ve got to juggle crew safety, cargo limits, and resource access, all while working with launch windows that stretch over years.
Mars missions lean hard on ISRU systems to cut down the mountain of cargo you’d otherwise have to haul from Earth. NASA’s Design Reference Architecture shows how extracting resources from Mars’ air and soil slashes costs.
The big win for ISRU is making methane and oxygen propellants right there for Mars ascent vehicles. This means you don’t have to lug return fuel from Earth—a huge savings, roughly 80 tons lighter for every crew return.
Key ISRU Components in Mission Design:
Robotic missions need to set up ISRU gear long before humans arrive. Usually, they’ll land and start building about 26 months ahead of the crew.
SpaceX’s Starship really nails this approach. Its methane-oxygen engines fit perfectly with what Mars ISRU can provide.
Redundant gear backs up the main ISRU plants in case something goes sideways. Extra atmospheric processors and emergency supplies give the crew a safety net.
Mars resource logistics gets tricky—production, storage, and distribution all have to work across scattered landing sites. Planners have to pick ISRU plant locations that make sense for both resources and crew needs.
Infrastructure Deployment Timeline:
Storage must handle wild temperature swings and those infamous dust storms. Cryogenic propellants need active cooling, powered by either nuclear reactors or massive solar arrays.
Rovers haul materials between production sites, landing zones, and habitats. Sometimes they travel up to 10 kilometers with cargo.
If ISRU fails, planners have backup supplies arriving with the crew. That way, everyone’s covered until the next Earth return window opens.
Choosing a landing site is a balancing act. Places near polar ice offer water, but the terrain can be rough and risky.
Mars missions run on a 26-month cycle because of planetary alignment. ISRU systems have to keep working on their own between crew rotations and still hit production targets.
Mars ISRU isn’t just a theory anymore. NASA has actually produced oxygen on Mars, and there’s a roadmap for bigger, more ambitious systems.
The Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment (MOXIE) marks a real milestone—it’s the first time anyone’s made a useful resource on another planet. NASA stuck MOXIE on the Perseverance rover, and it uses solid oxide electrolysis to turn Martian CO₂ into oxygen.
MOXIE heats the thin Martian air to 800°C. Then, it pushes CO₂ through ceramic stacks that split off oxygen ions, which recombine into pure O₂—over 99.6% pure, actually.
Since April 2021, MOXIE has run several times. It’s made 82.8 grams of oxygen in just over 14 hours of operation. At its best, it cranked out 10.4 grams per hour.
Performance results show it keeps working under all sorts of conditions:
If you scale MOXIE up, it could make 2-3 kilograms of oxygen per hour. That’s enough oxidizer for a Mars Ascent Vehicle to send six astronauts back to orbit.
NASA’s got a clear plan for growing Mars ISRU beyond these early tests. The focus is on scalable systems that can support a real human presence.
Right now, the top priorities are oxygen and metal extraction. Water mining isn’t as urgent until we know more about what’s under the surface. NASA wants to team up with industry for demonstration and pilot-scale flights.
Key areas for tech development:
The Moon is a handy place to test all this out. Lunar ISRU missions can work out the bugs before anything heads to Mars. It’s a smart way to cut risk and get hands-on experience.
NASA especially likes feedstock tech for building stuff on Mars. If you can make habitats and landing pads from local materials, you don’t have to ship nearly as much from Earth.
Long-term ISRU on Mars? It’s a beast. Equipment has to work for years with no spare parts from Earth, and the Martian environment never lets up. Crew safety is always on the line.
ISRU gear must run for years without help from Earth. If something breaks, astronauts could get stranded or forced to abort the mission.
Dust storms are a nightmare. Martian dust clogs filters, grinds down moving parts, and can cut solar panel power by 40%. The particles even carry static that messes with electronics.
You need solid backup systems:
Temperature swings from -195°F to 70°F stress metals and seals. Over time, all that expanding and contracting can make stuff break.
Remote diagnostics become the crew’s best friend. Systems need sensors to catch problems early, and automated maintenance routines help keep things running between human checkups.
Mars’ air has just 0.16% oxygen—compared to Earth’s 21%. ISRU oxygen systems have to keep up, or the crew could suffocate if something fails.
Perchlorates in Martian dirt are toxic. These chemicals can mess with your thyroid and nerves if you breathe or eat any of the dust during water extraction.
Mars throws a lot at ISRU operations:
Safety protocols need to fit Mars’ weird hazards. Crew working with processed materials have to wear gear that blocks perchlorates. Emergency shutdowns are a must if anything goes wrong.
Fire suppression is another headache. Mars’ thin air makes normal methods useless, so ISRU facilities handling flammable gases like methane need special fire systems.
Mars ISRU is a whole different animal compared to how we use resources on Earth or even the Moon. The Martian environment has some perks—like a CO₂-rich atmosphere and accessible minerals—but it’s got its own set of headaches.
Atmospheric resources vary wildly. Mars gives you a CO₂-heavy atmosphere, perfect for making methane and oxygen. Earth’s air is loaded with nitrogen and oxygen, so you need different equipment. The Moon? No real atmosphere, so you’re stuck using surface stuff.
| Location | Primary Resources | Processing Complexity | Infrastructure Needs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mars | CO2, water ice, regolith | Moderate | Medium |
| Moon | Regolith, water ice | High | High |
| Earth | All materials | Low | Existing |
Water extraction is another story. Mars has seasonal ice and minerals with around 3% water content. The Moon hides its water in permanently shadowed craters. Earth, of course, has water everywhere and easy extraction.
Temperature differences mean different challenges. Mars’ swings are rough, but the Moon’s day-night cycles are brutal. That changes how you design and power your gear.
Gravity changes the game for moving stuff around. Mars’ gravity makes equipment handling easier than the Moon’s low gravity, which can be a pain for excavation and transport.
Mission support looks better for Mars ISRU on long trips. Mars systems can make all the propellant you need, while lunar setups mostly focus on oxygen and building materials.
Mars ISRU is full of challenges, but it’s also the key to making human exploration sustainable. Here are some questions that come up again and again.
Mars ISRU gear faces some of the harshest conditions out there. The thin air—just 0.16% oxygen—means atmospheric processors have to work overtime compared to anything on Earth.
Dust storms are brutal. Fine Martian dust clogs up machines and can chop solar panel output by 40%.
Temperature swings from -195°F to 70°F put serious stress on metal parts. They expand and contract so much that failures are kind of inevitable.
Machines have to run for months without anyone around to fix them. When Earth is 24 minutes away by radio, remote troubleshooting is the only option.
Resource uncertainty is another headache. Until rovers check out the landing site, you can’t be sure about water ice or mineral content.
ISRU cuts mission costs by making supplies on Mars instead of shipping them from Earth. Sending just one kilogram to Mars costs about $20,000.
Oxygen production becomes a survival issue and is needed for return trips. Mars’ atmosphere is 95% CO₂, and ISRU can turn that into breathable oxygen with proven tech.
Making fuel on Mars means you don’t have to bring huge amounts from Earth. ISRU can pull water from the soil, then split it into hydrogen and oxygen for rockets.
Extracted water isn’t just for drinking—it cools equipment and helps shield astronauts from radiation. Each crew member needs about 2.5 liters a day just to get by.
If you can make construction materials from Mars dirt, crews can build habitats and landing pads without relying on shipments from home.
NASA’s MOXIE on Perseverance made oxygen from Mars’ air in 2021. During tests, it produced 5.4 grams per hour.
New water extraction methods pull frozen ice from below the surface using 50% less energy than older systems. That’s a big deal for efficiency.
Robotic mining gear now shrugs off dust and cleans itself. Some can run for six months straight with no maintenance.
Atmospheric processors have gotten 30% smaller but still put out the same amount. That saves space and money on launches.
Advanced alloys now handle temperature swings way better. Some can survive 1,000 freeze-thaw cycles without falling apart.
Lunar and Martian ISRU do share some basic resource extraction ideas, but honestly, you can’t just copy-paste the tech. You’ve got to tweak things. Both places lack breathable air and swing wildly in temperature, so that’s a common headache.
Mars does offer a leg up over the Moon for getting resources. You’ve got carbon dioxide in the air and actual water ice that you can get to—stuff the Moon just doesn’t really have in the same way.
Dust gets a lot more annoying on Mars. Those dust particles are finer, more reactive, and they force you to invent better filters and seals.
Gravity throws another wrench in the works. Mars pulls at about 38% of Earth’s gravity, so you can run heavier gear there than on the Moon, where gravity’s only 16% of Earth’s.
Mars has some atmosphere, which actually helps with certain chemical processes. You can process carbon dioxide on Mars, but that’s a non-starter on the Moon’s vacuum.
Solar power isn’t the same on both worlds. Mars only gets around 43% of the sunlight Earth does, while the Moon gets the full blast—at least during its two-week-long days.
NASA really sees ISRU as a must for long-term Mars exploration. They’ve zeroed in on making propellant on Mars as the first realistic step.
Mission plans call for ISRU gear to land and start working before any crew leaves Earth. That way, there’s fuel and oxygen waiting when astronauts arrive.
The Artemis program is kind of NASA’s ISRU test bed. They’re using lunar missions to shake down hardware and procedures before sending it all to Mars.
Timelines expect ISRU systems to run for 26 months straight, just to churn out enough resources for a full crewed mission. That’s tied to the awkward timing between Earth and Mars launch windows.
NASA’s also working with other space agencies to build common ISRU standards. They want to make sure gear from different companies actually fits together and works as a system.
Robotic systems take on the risky, dull tasks needed for Mars resource extraction. Human workers just couldn’t survive those harsh conditions for long.
Autonomous rovers haul ISRU equipment to the best resource spots after orbital surveys pinpoint them. Since Mars doesn’t have GPS, these rovers rely on some pretty clever terrain recognition tech to get around.
Robotic arms handle precise maintenance and swap out worn parts as needed. When there’s too much communication lag with Earth, these arms just follow their pre-programmed routines.
Excavation robots dig and haul raw materials to processing facilities all day, every day. Some of the newer ones can move about 500 kilograms daily, and they barely sip power.
Robotic quality control systems keep an eye on output purity and equipment health 24/7. They’ll flag mission controllers if something looks off, way before it becomes a crisis.
Some robots can even fix themselves by swapping out their own worn components. This kind of self-repair lets these robotic systems stick around and work for years instead of just a few months.
