page_title: Colonization of Mars
section_title: Equipment needed for colonization
hierarchical_section_title: Colonization of Mars / Equipment needed for colonization
caption_attribution_description: English: A conceptual rendering of a greenhouse on the surface of Mars.
context_page_description: The hypothetical colonization of Mars has received interest from public space agencies and private corporations, and has received extensive treatment in science fiction writing, film, and art.
  Organizations have proposed plans for a human mission to Mars, the first step towards any colonization effort, but no person has set foot on the planet. However, landers and rovers have successfully explored the planetary surface and delivered information about conditions on the ground.
  Reasons for colonizing Mars include pure curiosity, the potential for humans to provide more in-depth observational research than unmanned rovers, economic interest in its resources, and the possibility that the settlement of other planets could decrease the likelihood of human extinction. Difficulties and hazards include radiation exposure during a trip to Mars and on its surface, toxic soil, low gravity, the isolation that accompanies Mars' distance from Earth, a lack of water, and cold temperatures.
  The most recent commitments to researching permanent settlement include those by public space agencies—NASA, ESA, Roscosmos, ISRO and the CNSA—and private organizations—SpaceX, Lockheed Martin, and Boeing.
context_section_description: Colonization of Mars would require a wide variety of equipment—both equipment to directly provide services to humans and production equipment used to produce food, propellant, water, energy and breathable oxygen—in order to support human colonization efforts. Required equipment will include:
  Basic utilities (oxygen, power, local communications, waste disposal, sanitation and water recycling)
  Habitats
  Storage facilities
  Shop workspaces
  Airlock, for pressurization and dust management
  Resource extraction equipment—initially for water and oxygen, later for a wider cross section of minerals, building materials, etc.
  Equipment for energy production and energy storage, some solar and perhaps nuclear as well
  Food production spaces and equipment.
  Propellant production equipment, generally thought to be hydrogen and methane through the Sabatier reaction for fuel—with oxygen oxidizer—for chemical rocket engines
  Fuels or other energy source for use with surface transportation. Carbon monoxide/oxygen (CO/O₂) engines have been suggested for early surface transportation use as both carbon monoxide and oxygen can be straightforwardly produced by zirconium dioxide electrolysis from the Martian atmosphere without requiring use of any of the Martian water resources to obtain hydrogen.
  Off-planet communication equipment
  Equipment for moving over the surface—Mars suit, crewed rovers and possibly even Mars aircraft.
caption: Mars greenhouses feature in many colonization designs, especially for food production and other purposes
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