What if we could send a 3D printer and robotic arm to Mars to construct launch pads, shelters, and roads — preparing the ground before a human ever sets foot? The Mars Habitat project explores exactly that.

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In 2015, NASA launched an international competition to develop technologies that could enable autonomous construction on Mars using site-specific materials. Phase 1 focused on conceptual design; Phase 2 on developing and testing materials compatible with Martian geology; and in the current Phase 3, teams are tasked with creating high-fidelity BIM models, performing hydrostatic testing, and demonstrating robotic, sub-scale 3D printing of a functional Mars habitat. Our team advanced two core innovations. The first is a technology developed at the Hebrew University, enabling printing using 100% local Martian regolith — eliminating reliance on Earth-based materials. The second is a modular construction system that prints small bricks rather than a single continuous form. This approach offers advantages in speed, structural redundancy, ease of transport, and repair. Together, these strategies reimagine how architecture might be deployed autonomously in extreme environments. Mars Habitat is not just a vision for space; it's a model for radically sustainable construction — built without hands, from the ground beneath.