Igloos on Mars? How Future Astronauts Could Use Ice to Survive
If humans are ever to land on Mars, they’ll need a place to stay: a protective shell that can shield them from the sun’s intense rays. One possible answer: large, glassy domes of ice.
Mars is rich in ice, both on and below its surface, and more is predicted to lie further beneath its dusty exterior. If future astronauts could gain access, they could use this ice to build sturdy shelters, according to new preliminary research presented Tuesday at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union.
Each structure could range in size from a few dozen square meters to a few hectares with a domed roof and space to live and grow food for sustenance. Designed to be completely transparent, the domes would let in sunlight but not the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays, says Robin Wordsworth, a professor of earth and planetary sciences at Harvard University and co-author of the new research. “Sunlight is particularly important for growing plants without artificial lighting and for human psychology,” he explains.
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The proposal could solve a major problem that any future crewed mission to Mars would face: how to build and provide a safe habitat for humans. Elon Musk’s SpaceX is trying to solve this problem, at least in part, with its Starship rocket program. Starship is designed to carry 100 tons of cargo into space, meaning it could potentially take construction materials with it. But it is still in development. And even if SpaceX does get to Mars, the company will likely have to send multiple rockets at once to support a human mission there.
For this new research, scientists used mathematical models to determine how much ice habitats need. Combined with exterior coverings, this could warm their interiors to a habitable temperature of around 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius), according to Wordsworth.
It is certain that communities all over the planet have already exploited the ice in the same way. In addition to igloos built by some Inuit in the Arctic, people lived in ice caves and other shelters that provided warmth, stability, and protection from the elements.
What’s less clear, however, is how future Mars astronauts might gather enough ice to build anything. Wordsworth points out that although his team’s idea requires a lot of ice, it is easier to process and extract than other materials, like silica, that could be used to build structures on Mars.
It’s also unclear how crews would protect their igloos from Mars’ famous dust storms, which could interfere with the structures’ insulating effect. Wordsworth admits that storms pose a significant challenge.
“We haven’t yet directly addressed the issue of dust,” he says, “but jets of compressed air blown onto the surface of the dome following a dust storm would be a possible solution.”
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