9. The First Phase
The first phase of Mars colonisation will likely be more of a tentative toe in the galactic water, rather than a swan dive. Before we see any kind of mass exodus, we'll send an advanced party to case the joint before we all rock up. The first expedition would likely resemble the Moon landings, with a small crew sent to carry out the preliminary analysis of the surface that we haven't yet managed to achieve with robots. They might take equipment with them for resource extraction and the production of food, oxygen, water, energy and fuel. It has been suggested that those first Martian explorers would use a carbon dioxide based fuel as the ingredients can be extracted from the Martian atmosphere rather than attempting the process of extracting hydrogen from Martian water. Alternatively, solar power could form the basis of energy production on Mars. They might live in rudimentary "pop up" habitats, but we could also send them there with
3D printing technology for future building. If they were able to use the materials already on Mars, this would drastically reduce the amount of materials we would need to transport from Earth, cutting the time, money and resources needed for the trip. The first habitats might even be 3D printed and lowered down from orbit. Martian soil is poor, but not necessarily impossible to cultivate. It already contains many of the nutrients needed to grow crops, and with addition of fertiliser (handily provided by the crew's, er, excreta), the Martian settlers could grow crops and become at least partially self sufficient. Whether or not we are able bring these early explorers back to Earth again is still being debated. The prospect of a one-way Mars trip is a daunting one, but it might not
stay a one-way trip as we develop the technology to get ourselves to and from the Red Planet.