J
j05h
Guest
Let's start a discussion about what can be made, either by hand or automation. Can we make fabric or tiles? Brewing? I'm think of things that make life more comfortable and make a module into a place. Recycling parachutes, tanks and rocket plumbing, what can Mars explorers/colonists make on hand? What will go up to a BA330-based station that can add to life onboard? Would it make sense for a lunar base to sinter it's own bricks/tiles/pottery from the start? <br /><br />If we are going to settle, we need to be able to build on what's available locally, a "space technology base". As of now, we really use 'Earth' technology with no real practice in the art of making stuff in space. (except data, of course) <br /><br />My favorite early in-space manufacturing would be a solar-sinter forge that makes heatshields from regolith. <br /><br /> Josh <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div align="center"><em>We need a first generation of pioneers.</em><br /></div> </div>