Back to Mission Mars
// Module 01 — Explore
Mars Facts
Every number below is a design constraint, not trivia. Get comfortable with this planet — your colony has to survive on it.
// The rest of the briefing
What the numbers leave out.
Some constraints do not fit on a dial. These are the ones that shape almost every design decision your team will make.
Two small moons
Phobos and Deimos, most likely captured asteroids — too small for their own gravity to pull them into spheres.
Water is already there
Polar ice caps and subsurface ice are the resource every serious colony proposal plans around. You do not ship water from Earth.
Why it is red
Iron oxide — rust — coats the surface. That same dust gets into seals, solar panels, and lungs, so airlock design matters.
No global magnetic field
Nothing deflects solar and cosmic radiation, so shielding is a habitat requirement rather than an optional extra.
Dust storms
Storms can wrap the entire planet for weeks, cutting sunlight. Any power design that assumes clear skies will fail.
Missions to date
Decades of orbiters, landers, and rovers came before the IDC's own proof-of-concept landings in 2050. You are designing the next chapter, not the first one.
Know the planet? Next, learn what it takes to stay alive on it.