NASA continues to improve its space missions and equipment. As the space agency is planning to go into deep space and take longer space duration missions, it is vital that they create hardware that can withstand any environment and obstacles.
Which is why Matt Damon's character, Mark Watney, in the movie "The Martian" is a somewhat apt reference. The harsh conditions on the red planet can be difficult on such equipment. But kidding aside, NASA is developing newer technologies using new materials such as carabon nanotubes for transit vehicles and habitats that can be used in deep space missions.
Such technology from NASA can be used in the Mars mission. The idea about having a living space actually came from recommendations from different multi-disciplinary, university research institutes, as reported by Science Times. This kind of collaboration can help create sustained human living on Mars.
NASA is also building a vehicle that is light-weight, using carbon nanotube as the main material, according to Planet Tech News.
Currently, NASA is also partnering with the University of Central Florida to extract materials In the Mars soil samples. They can use this and the knowledge attained from it to determine the type of environment the vehicle and habitat need to withstand and work on.
Professor Sudipta Seal, the interim chair of UCF's Materials Science and Engineering program, says that they are planning to use a 3D printer to make the parts of the vehicle, hardware, ship, electronics and habitat, with the metal from the soil or regolith.
University of Central Florida's aim is to find out what kind of pieces they can construct with the metal. NASA's study on the molten regolith electrolysis will need more research. When it comes to space exploration, agencies like NASA, SpaceX and Mars one agreed that Mars missions will require such resources.
Watch NASA's clip below of some of the breakthroughs when it comes to the Mars mission:
