Steel on Mars
Working towards new possibilities on Mars
Two Planet Steel’s main focus is FIC and the possibilities it can create on Mars and Earth. The development of FIC for Mars was motivated by the objective of making steel in order to enable the building of a Martian science station with abundant electricity – the steel helps make everything, including electricity generation equipment.
The equipment to run Mars-optimized steel-making featuring FIC is small, light, and sturdy. With these advantages, it is uniquely suited for transportation via spacecraft. Additional key differences between FIC-enabled steel-making and traditional steel-making make it ideal for initial steel production on Mars. This opens new opportunities for progress on that planet. Our technology, along with a complement of lightweight and low-volume equipment and robots, is key to transform raw iron ore found on Mars and create finished parts made of sheet steel.
Two Planet Steel’s grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) is largely centered on FIC’s potential in making steel on Mars. As a part of the contract with the NSF, Two Planet Steel will be performing certain tests relevant to Martian steel-making.
While Two Planet Steel is a for-profit company, it has an associated non-profit company called Two Planet Life. The principal objective of the non-profit is to build the infrastructure of a science station on Mars using locally made steel, electricity, and concrete. More information on Two Planet Life’s mission and work is available here.
credit: NASA/ASU
credit: NASA/ASU