MOON-MARS ANALOGUE BASE
- where advocates can develop approaches to space development -


FULL SELF-RELIANCE PROJECT

The main purpose of the Moon-Mars Analogue Base (MMAB) is to illustrate and demonstrate what a development and settlement-oriented lunar and Martian base might look like. However, an important side project would be to illustrate how a small base could potentially become increasingly or even entirely self-reliant.

This website has an entire section dedicated to achieving full self-reliance (FSR). But, briefly, FSR can be viewed in two ways:

  • Reducing the cost of shipping material by producing it locally
  • Producing everything that one needs locally thereby becoming completely self-reliant

Since the MMAB would be located on the Earth, how could it become "self-reliant"? It can't, of course, but it could illustrate what that would mean or even be a place to develop the protocols to use like those found on the Moon and Mars which could then be applied at those locations.

Much of this work could be advanced even at the layperson's level. People hydroponically grow plants in their back yard for fun. Hobbyists do their own metallurgy and machining. There are people who produce very popular YouTube series on things of this nature. What the MMAB could do would be to provide a singular location whereby these protocols could be brought together to demonstrate how a small Martial base could become partially or completely self-reliant.

So, what would the Full Self-reliance Project look like?

There would be a set of sub-projects that teams can focus on. These include:

  • Extracting resources from Martian air, ice, rocks, and meteorites.
  • Distilling water and electrolyzing propellant and breathable oxygen from the volatiles.
  • Chemically producing fertilizer (NPK) from Martian air simulant and lunar KREEP rock simulant.
  • Growing food adequate to meet the nutritional needs of the crew.
  • Producing metals from dirt simulating that of the Moon and Martian-type metal meteorites.
  • Chemically producing plastics and other components from volatile resources.
  • Producing glass and ceramics using dirt simulant.
  • Producing solar cells from dirt simulant (already largely demonstrated).
  • Compiling information of use for protocols and technologic reproduction.
  • Developing protocols for reproduction using frozen embryos and artificial gravity.

With a series of projects, we can explore how an off-Earth colony could become fully self-reliant.


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