The ships and rovers in Generation Mars run on methane and oxygen, produced on Mars by electrolysis and the Sabatier reaction. I haven’t heard of 2,3-butanediol until now, but bioproduction of a Martian fuel sounds interesting.
How many people?
This is an interesting paper estimating the minimum number of people required for a self-sufficient colony on Mars. Using a mathematical model to estimate work time requirements vs. work time capacity, the researchers come up with a surprisingly low number: 110.
In the forthcoming second book of the Generation Mars series, I peg the colony population at around 5000, so I think I’m good there.
Nature Asteroid mining
“… there are no major technological barriers keeping us from harvesting the resources of the Moon and asteroids. All the barriers are financial.”
Water on the Moon
I want to quickly follow up that Moon vs Mars video with this. With the recent confirmation of water ice on the surface at the Moon’s poles, some interesting possibilities open up.
Here’s a fascinating study that explores the logistics and economics of water mining on the Moon. Once again: these things are going to happen sooner than we expect.
