We'll use NC2-rugolith, commonly known as dirt, and other resources that are local and indigenous to the planet. Our goal when we're designing these habitats is to introduce an airtight structure that can withstand internal pressurization. The robots that we deploy on Mars will need to perceive and interpret the complexity of a construction site in order to sequence and choreograph different types of tasks.
We're going to be building on the Moon this decade -- and next will be Mars, says space architect Melodie Yashar. In a visionary talk, she introduces her work designing off-world shelters with autonomous robots and 3D printers and explores how it might help uncover radical solutions to some of the problems troubling humans on Earth today.