Once we manage to get equipment to Mars’ surface, what comes next?
What kind of materials exist on the planet for us to harvest? And how would we go about harvesting them?
What kind of materials exist on the planet for us to harvest? And how would we go about harvesting them?
Mars has a large amount of metals such as Iron, Titanium, Aluminum, and more. It would be possible to build an infrastructure from the resources there after sending some initial equipment, which would steadily reduce the cost to travel between Mars and earth. One of the most common processes of mining on earth is with large drills, pictured below.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/Borehole_miming_tool_and_technology_principle_schematic.jpg
They dig a hole, and then erode material with a water jet. The material mixes with the water to form a slush, which is pumped up to the surface to be processed later.