By Lou Farrell, Senior Blog Writer, Red Planet Bound
Source: Photo by Guilherme Farinha on Unsplash
Traversing beyond Earth is an infinite yet meaningful collaboration of minds and technologies. Manufacturing for Mars exploration and beyond demands reliable orbital and discovery mechanisms, but what about when humans finally plant a flag on its surface? What vehicles, techniques and tips will get experts closer to understanding our relationship with other worlds? These are the on-the-surface ideas making everything possible.
Dust Mitigation Strategies
Landing a rover or other vehicle on a celestial body is always a risk, especially with Mars. Martian dust is extremely fine, allowing it to enter even the smallest cracks of any equipment. It can lead to corrosion and mobility problems, but accumulation can also affect how sensors and cameras work. Engineers have spent years perfecting dust mitigation techniques to lower a machine’s risk of attracting particulates.
These include physical characteristics, such as electrodynamic dust shields that push off particles with electricity. Other passive methods include silicone coatings that naturally deter dust accumulation. While it seems like a minuscule technology, it prevents so many expensive and labor-intensive issues down the road.
In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) Process Optimization
Regolith is the material covering most planets. It is a dense rock containing many substances, including stone and soil. ISRU describes plans to leverage these locally available resources and whatever else is in the atmosphere. These are essential for traversing and, eventually, establishing home bases on other planets.
On Mars, humans need access to an immense amount of supplies and infrastructure to become stable, so optimizing the ISRU process is a critical strategy. This could include:
- Capturing and using gases.
- Separating water from regolith.
- Establishing circular habits.
- Reinforcing bedrock after extraction.
The plan would cover the efficiency of all relevant processes and set boundaries to prevent overutilization. The focus is longevity, especially for the first long-duration visit to Mars.
Regolith Anchoring and Construction Techniques
Astronauts and their equipment, including rovers, landers and vehicles, must remain firmly grounded on Martian surfaces. Tethers and anchors keep researchers safe while enhancing the practicality of exploratory equipment.
Once residents know how to ground structures in regolith, they can also use it for construction purposes. Because of its composition, regolith requires compaction technology to increase its stability. Astronauts can then combine this with anchoring techniques to begin establishing structures.
Strain Wave Gears
Strain wave gears are toothed yet flexible gears vital to most space vehicles. They are small and have high torque for more intense applications. They were critical for the Spirit and Opportunity rovers because of their high number of revolutions per minute, incomparable steering and backlash-free movement. These gears make robots and rovers adaptable to almost any environment.
Radiation Shielding With Local Materials
Radiation shielding has been a well-researched application for regolith. While some models are more effective than others, it could reduce primary radiation by 41% at a 1-centimeter depth for a month. While it is not a perfect material, it is a technology astronauts must know if they want to protect their health and supplement other measures while staying on Martian soil.
Autonomous Repair Systems
Once humans set up a base on Mars, experts will be around to fix equipment. However, it may not always be safe or permissible to manually intervene. On-surface traversal equipment could be in dangerous locations or climates where autonomous repair would be ideal.
Remotely operated robotic systems that can withstand environmental stressors will be necessary for maintaining Martian tools. They would need precision calibration and frequent attention, but then they could repair damaged machinery in almost any location, including power systems or navigational controls. Studies are looking to enhance their decision-making potential with artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced sensors.
Source: Photo by Mishal Ibrahim on Unsplash
Water Extraction From Atmospheric Humidity
Water extraction is a critical aspect of manufacturing for Mars and ISRU planning, so surface dwellers will need accessible, reliable technologies capable of harvesting and storing water. The Martian atmosphere is rather thin, but it does contain humidity to work with.
Humans can use a combination of tools and geoengineering techniques, if justifiable, to manipulate conditions to boost collectible quantities. This is essential for resource management and for regulating temperatures and conditions within spacecraft.
Power Storage Solutions for Dust Storms
On Earth, humans have had to adapt to worsening climate conditions and natural disasters. Outages and downed utility infrastructure are common occurrences, so redundancy in electrical availability has become a priority. The same mentality must translate to on-surface Martian technologies. Otherwise, years of research could be erased within seconds, and home bases back on Earth would be unable to communicate with these teams.
Long-lasting power solutions like fuel cells and batteries will be the lifeblood of sustainable operations, especially since Martian weather patterns include heavy dust storms and winds. However, they could minimize the value of assets like solar panels, so backup measures enhance their usefulness.
Surface Navigation in Low Visibility
Autonomous navigation systems and human-operated vehicles need equal visibility tools. They must be able to map routes and view obstacles despite darkness or dust. Algorithms within these products can eventually train themselves on the safest paths to traverse. Additionally, sensor fusion is a reliable technology making low-visibility travel possible.
Biohazard Prevention Protocols
Safety technology will be the reason all surface exploration efforts go without any disruptions. Humanity still has a lot to learn about what is in Martian soil and air — especially the impacts on people residing there for extended periods. Sterilization methods that work in the planet’s unique conditions are required. Additionally, monitoring technologies like computer vision and particulate-detecting devices can provide additional visibility.
Habitat Sealing and Leak Detection
Preventing cross-contamination, air quality problems and research compromises demands habitat sealing and leak identification tools. All environments must have clean room quality standards, especially as scientists continue to discover more of what lies out in the unknown. Any air leak can let matter in that harms the crew and their equipment, potentially permanently ruining breathable environments.
It is an often-overlooked asset because leak detection is already common on Earth for industries like water management. However, many commonplace tools like these are translatable and essential to Martian surfaces.
Waste Management and Recycling Systems
Astronauts need tools and technology suitable for handling waste and perishables. The climate crisis on Earth has shown how poor trash management planning can impact ecosystem health. To prevent the same mistakes from happening on a newly inhabited world, the planet will need robust, clean and sustainable recycling and waste infrastructure.
NASA has already embarked on this journey and started developing ideas. With the average Mars mission expected to last two to three years, teams must be prepared to handle trash and old supplies ethically. Experts are experimenting with the idea of sustainably made 3D-printed materials and waste-conversion techniques to repurpose as much as possible. Garbage regeneration is ideal for extending the shelf life of perishables and preventing emergency response missions to help astronauts with minimal resources.
How Manufacturing for Mars Helps Humans
While it seems like a distant dream, walking on the surface of Mars is no longer an impossible feat. Experts have been manufacturing for Mars for years, making the tiniest and most impactful adjustments to legacy equipment until it is perfect for uncovering more of the universe’s secrets. In the near future, people will get to experience more of their benefits as humans reach the red planet.
Author’s Personal Note (Lou Farrell): Hope you enjoyed this two-part nitty-gritty look at some of the technology and developments responsible for driving current and future Mars exploration, both in-orbit and on-the-surface!
Images: Guilherme Farinha / Unsplash and Mishal Ibrahim / Unsplash