Via Motherboard.
The dream of establishing human settlements on Mars has been building momentum for decades, buoyed on by science fiction visionaries and active robotic exploration of the Red Planet. With powerful figures like SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and president Barack Obama throwing in their support for the ultimate moving trip, humanity may finally be on the cusp of sending people to Mars, and even pioneering permanent inhabitation of our tantalizing neighboring world.
This will be a complicated and risky maneuver, which is why NASA is inviting interdisciplinary thinkers to participate in its 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge. This $2.5 million competition aims to crowdsource innovative Martian habitat designs that rely on 3D-printed and in situ resources on the planet.
As outlined in this new video released on Saturday, NASA wants to begin tackling three major questions: How will we build habitats on Mars? What will they be made of? And finally, can we use Mars’s onsite resources to build them, or recycle our own materials to 3D-print habitat components?
The challenge is open to all Americans and green-card holders, and is currently accepting proposals for the second of three phrases. The goal of this phase is to “demonstrate a recycling system that can create structural components using terrestrial and space-based materials and recyclables,” according to the project website. Proposals are due on January 31, 2017, and a total of $1.1 million in prize money will be distributed to the winners.
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