Abstract:

Given plans to revisit the lunar surface by the late 2020s and to take a crewed mission to Mars by the late 2030s, critical technologies must mature. In missions of extended duration, in situ resource utilization is necessary to both maximize scientific returns and minimize costs. While this presents a significantly more complex challenge in the resource-starved environment of Mars, it is similar to the increasing need to develop resource-efficient and zero-waste ecosystems on Earth. Here, we make use of recent advances in the field of bioinspired chitinous manufacturing to develop a manufacturing technology to be used within the context of a minimal, artificial ecosystem that supports humans in a Martian environment.

In the Media:

• This is how we should build on Mars, scientists say(Article)
  Katie Hunt, CNN, 2020
• Future Mars habitats may be made from a substance found in fish scales and fungi after researchers mix it with Martian soil to create a new building material(Article)
  Jonathan Chadwick, Daily Mail, 2020
• Chitin could be used to build tools and habitats on Mars, study finds(Article)
  Jennifer Oullette, ARSTechnica, 2020
• Cities on Mars could be built from prawn shells, scientists claim(Article)
  Mark Waghorn & Shivali Best, Mirror, 2020
• Mars habitats could be built from a super-strong bio-material made of bug shells(Article)
  Elizabeth Rayne, The Wire, 2020