Energy Life Cycle in Extraterrestrial Construction Projects: Is Building Underground an Option?

Making life multi-planetary requires substantial knowledge of building structures in extraterrestrial bodies, where natural resources are scarce, human resources are expensive-to-utilize, and energy sources are vastly different from the Earth. On Earth, fossil fuels have been the main source of energy for construction projects. In other extraterrestrial bodies, including Mars and Moon, easy-to-access fossil fuels are non-existent. Solar energy is, and probably will be, the primary source of energy accessible to extraterrestrial construction projects. This calls for ultra-efficient and sustainable design of structures and buildings, smart and resource-efficient planning of projects, and use of energy-efficient and smart construction techniques and machinery. This paper presents two energy cycle flowcharts for construction projects on Earth and beyond, which show the vastly different energy cycles in these environments. It further presents arguments about the expensive and unrealistic nature of building underground, as one of the key ideas for building beyond Earth.