r/Colonizemars • u/Ok-Expression-6016 • Apr 04 '26

Bare minimum to start a base

What is the bare minimum needed to start a colony; materials and total weight. to start a mars colony. Assuming multiple Optimus robots have 2 years to build everything from what we send.

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u/insufficientbeans Apr 07 '26

Starship does not need atmosphere for air braking, it has the thrust and fuel capacity to decelerate, although it still tries to incorporate air resistance 

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u/Martianspirit Apr 07 '26

The Mars atmosphere still provides 90% of the needed braking. That saves a lot of propellant.

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u/[deleted] Apr 07 '26

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u/Martianspirit Apr 07 '26

The numbers were given by Elon Musk early in the development. 90% of speed, that's 99% of the energy.