Moon to Mars: Building a Sustainable Cislunar Economy

Cislunar space will be the proving ground for a sustainable, science‑forward economy.

This article explains why the lunar poles matter, the infrastructure required between Earth and Moon, the surface systems that keep people and payloads alive, and which technologies scale to Mars.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

·        The lunar south pole’s illumination peaks and permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) enable near‑continuous power and access to water ice.

·        Cislunar infrastructure—depots, tugs, relay comms, navigation beacons, and Gateway—reduces Δv and time risk for surface campaigns.

·        Surface systems hinge on dust mitigation, radiation protection, and modularity for incremental base growth.

·        ISRU, nuclear power, precision EDL, and robust autonomy form the backbone of Moon‑to‑Mars technology transfer.

Introduction

A sustainable cislunar economy is not a single programme but a logistics web.

From propellant depots to relay satellites and modular surface habitats, each element shifts mass, power, and risk budgets in our favour.

The Moon is the nearby lab where we learn to operate away from continuous Earth support—and prepare for Mars.

Why the Lunar Poles Matter

The south pole offers unique geography for power and resources.

Peaks of near‑eternal light allow high solar availability, while adjacent PSRs trap volatiles, including water ice mixed with regolith and bound in cold traps.

• Water ice → life support (O₂, H₂O), propellant (LOX/LH₂), and radiation shielding when processed into bricks/berms.

• Illumination → reduced energy storage needs; hybrid systems with fuel cells or small nuclear units bridge eclipse seasons.

• Thermal extremes → require robust thermal control, heated seals, and materials tolerant of cryo cycling.

• Science payoffs → sampling pristine volatiles records solar‑wind chemistry and delivery of water to inner planets.

Cislunar Infrastructure 101

The transport layer between Earth and Moon sets cadence and cost.

Interoperability and refuellability are design imperatives.

• Depots — Cryogenic storage with zero‑boil‑off tech; topping up transfer stages and landers improves payload fraction.

• Tugs — Reusable tugs reposition assets, fetch cargo from various orbits, and deliver to NRHO or low lunar orbit.

• Relay comms — Frozen orbits and halo relays give farside coverage and precision navigation for polar landings.

• Navigation beacons — GNSS‑like timing and laser retroreflectors refine descent and surface ops localisation.

• Gateway — Serves as staging, crew shelter, and science node; reduces loiter fuel and supports servicing.

WHO BUILDS WHAT, AND WHY

·        Public agencies: standards, safety cases, science priorities, and anchor‑tenant demand.

·        Industry: launch, landers, depots, and surface systems with service‑level commitments.

·        Alliances: shared interfaces, cross‑support agreements, and debris‑mitigation norms.

Surface Systems: Suits, Rovers, Habitats

Sustained surface presence depends on reliable EVA, mobility, and living systems designed for dust, radiation, and maintenance in gloves.

• Life support — Closed‑loop ECLSS with CO₂ scrubbing, water recycling, and contingency consumables for EVA.

• Dust mitigation — Seal design, electrostatic or adhesive dust rejection, suitport concepts, and sacrificial outer layers.

• Radiation protection — Local regolith berms, water walls, selective storm shelters, and active dosimetry.

• Modular base design — Pressurised rovers doubling as mobile labs; inflatable or rigid modules added in phases; ISRU bricks for berms and shielding.

• Operations — Night‑survival kits, power‑positive traverse planning, and autonomy for tele‑op during comms gaps.

Mars Prep: Tech that Scales from Moon to Mars

The Moon is testbed and trampoline. We prioritise capabilities that scale with distance, latency, and gravity well depth.

• ISRU — Oxygen from regolith/ice (Moon) and fuel from CO₂ + H₂O (Mars); shared mining/processing, different chemistries.

• Nuclear power — Small fission units bridge dark periods and dust storms; similar reactor/electrical architectures.

• EDL — Precision terrain‑relative navigation, supersonic retropropulsion, and hazard avoidance—Mars needs robust scale‑up.

• Autonomy — Onboard planning, fault management, and robotic maintenance reduce Earth‑ops bandwidth and risk.

• Gaps — Planetary protection protocols, long‑duration closed‑loop life support validation, and high‑reliability in‑situ manufacturing.

Conclusion

A resilient cislunar economy is built on interoperable logistics, polar resource realism, and modular surface systems.

With those foundations, Moon‑to‑Mars becomes an engineering scale‑up rather than a moonshot redo—and the science return multiplies.