--- title: "Future Mars Colonists Could Fly Rockets They 3D Printed Right on the Red Planet" description: "Relativity Space wants to outfit Mars colonists with 3D printers that could churn out almost anything they'd need — even a new rocket." date: "2018-10-22" modified: "2018-10-22" authors: - name: "Jon Christian" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/mars-colonists-3d-print-rocket" categories: - "Astronomy" - "Mars" - "Space" tags: - "3d printing" - "mars colonization" - "relativity space" - "the digest" --- # Future Mars Colonists Could Fly Rockets They 3D Printed Right on the Red Planet ![Default Futurism featured image]() ## Rocket Launcher If Elon Musk has his way, the first humans will [arrive on Mars in 2024](), bringing with them everything they'll need for the mission — or at least everything they *think* they'll need. If these Mars colonists find themselves in need of a new piece of equipment while on the Red Planet, they'll be out of luck. That makes the prospect of a round-trip mission scary and the idea of long-term colonization downright terrifying. We've [written about]() the startup Relativity Space before, but now it's offering a [potential solution]() to that supply conundrum: It proposes outfitting Mars colonists with sophisticated 3D printers that could churn out almost anything they could ever need — even an entire rocket. ## Alum Network Designing a 3D-printable rocket is one of Relativity Space's first goals. To meet it, the company is using a technology called laser sintering, which forms powdered metal into complex shapes. According to *Business Insider*, it's also vastly simplifying its rocket design **—** while a conventional rocket has about 100,000 moving parts, Relativity's has only about 1,000. Creating such a rocket is a major technical challenge, but Relativity has top-tier talent helping in the endeavor. Its co-founder and chief technology officer Jordan Noone previously worked at SpaceX and interned at Blue Origin, co-founder Tim Ellis was an engineer at Blue Origin, and advisor Tim Buzza was SpaceX's fifth employee and an engineer for Virgin Orbit, Richard Branson's rocket company. ## Tech Deck That said, designing a rocket astronauts could 3D print on Mars is still an enormous challenge. If Relativity's project can make it off the ground, it'll be an enormous boon to colonization efforts. "I would love to launch our factory to Mars, and then figure out how to scale and sustain that society very quickly," Ellis told *Business Insider*. If successful, Relativity has the opportunity to make our off-world plans seem a little less scary. **READ MORE:** [Defectors From SpaceX and Blue Origin Are Developing a Remarkable Technology Called 'Stargate' to Help Colonize Other Planets]() \[*Business Insider*\] ***More on settling Mars: [Elon Musk’s Plans to Colonize Mars Overlook Some Major Hurdles]()*** ## Author I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()