Digging in on Mars! How Astronauts Will Survive and Thrive on the Red Planet

Mars has usable resources such as water ice that could help sustain future expeditionary crews on short missions, or pioneers living permanently on the Red Planet, experts say. "The use of local resources is pivotal for our future human exploration of Mars," said Angel Abbud-Madrid, director of the Center for Space Resources here at the Colorado School of Mines. "Either we bypass our reliance on them for an expensive, one-time trip carrying all needed supplies from Earth…or we incorporate