The very first explorers to walk on Martian soil could well be building Igloos from the ice beneath their feet and calling it home. In order to keep themselves alive in a harsh atmosphere and so that they can fight extreme temperatures, researchers believe, an Igloo like structure, built from Martian Ice would be the best and most effective building structure.
Since a Martian mission could last for months, in comparison to missions to the Moon, which have lasted for a few days, explorers will require sturdy structures to survive. According to a senior systems engineer at NASA, “After a day dedicated to identifying needs, goals and constraints we rapidly assessed many crazy, out of the box ideas and finally converged on the current Ice Home design, which provides a sound engineering solution.”
According to NASA, the “Mars Ice Home” is a large inflatable torus, a shape similar to an inner tube, that is surrounded by a shell of water ice. The Mars Ice Home design has several advantages that make it an appealing concept. It is lightweight and can be transported and deployed with simple robotics, then filled with water before the crew arrives. It incorporates materials extracted from Mars and because water in the Ice Home could potentially be converted to rocket fuel for the Mars Ascent Vehicle, the structure itself doubles as a storage tank that can be refilled for the next crew.