DrAnus & Stargazer
Hey DrAnus, I was just looking at the new data on Martian regolith and its potential to yield water—any thoughts on whether that could realistically support a self‑sustaining habitat, or is it just another fascinating but impractical idea?
The regolith does contain water, but the amount you get is very small compared to what you need for a habitat. You'd have to dig up a lot of material and run an extraction process that wastes a lot of energy. So, technically possible, but not practical as the main source of water for a self‑sustaining base at the moment. It’s an interesting research direction, but we’ll still have to rely on other supplies for now.