Name | Description | Proximity | Viability Rating | Commentary |
Martian Satellites | Near | High | Orbital satellites will be essential early on to maintain continuous communications links, both around the planet and back and fi=Roth to Earth | |
Space Hotels | In any planetary orbit | Near | Low | |
Robotic workforce | Near | High | This might initially sound far-fetched, and autonomous, decisions making robots might be, but tele-operated exploration and construction robots operated from Mars orbit or from safe inside a surf=face base wil be key to the exploration of Mars and construction of the first bases | |
Dust seals | Protect buildings, vehicles and suits | Near | Medium | Essential for keeping the fine Martian dust out of suits and living spaces |
Gene Repair | Repairing the damage from surface radiation | Medium | N/K | This might be very useful to colonists if they can’t be adequately protected from radiation, to protect from cancers and genetic mutations or sterility. Viability, and when it might be available, are uncertain, though, and not getting fried in the first place is likely the better option |
Pets | Medium | Low | As with livestock, pets would take up an inordinate amount of air, water and food, for little payback. They might also spread disease. It’s not likely they’ll be allowed, particularly in the early days | |
Breathing filters | Far | Medium | If the atmosphere becomes thick enough to breath, with a sufficiently high level of oxygen, it may be important to be able to filter out the fine Martian dust. |
Transorbital 