Name | Description | Proximity | Viability Rating | Commentary |
Greenhouses | Near | High | Much easier to give plants light on the surface than underground with artificial lighting, and greenhouses would allow pressurising with the required mix of gases. The skin of the greenhouse might need to be able to reflect or filter ultraviolet light, which would be harmful to plants | |
Kelp Farming | Newly formed oceans are rich in minerals perfect for food production | Far | Medium | Not sure what “nutrients” Mars has that would enable kelp to thrive, and with a quarter the sunlight that Earth has, Kelp will find it difficult to thrive. Obviously, an ocean is a must |
Tundra farming | In the thawed soil | Far | Medium | Once there is a thick enough atmosphere, plants, probably bioengineered to survive the cold and the peroxide soil, may be growable |
Farm animals | Far | Low | Farm animals use up oxygen and are inefficient as food producers. They will be a very low priority for colonists, especially now that meat can be grown in vats artificially | |
Noctis Farming | Noctis Labyrinthus could have a uniquely dense and moist atmosphere | Far | Medium | Low altitude areas may be the earliest places where outdoor farms are founded |
Transorbital 