Super Island Tycoon-Chapter 694 - 693: Delusion

The terrain where the astronauts are currently located is very flat, and there is not much topographical fluctuation around, so developing in all directions will not encounter any obstacles.

Moreover, the geological structure here is very good, able to withstand the construction of various buildings.

The most crucial thing is that not far from here, there is a high-quality shallow iron ore vein.

This iron ore is basically located at the surface, making mining very simple, without having to dig deep to see the vein.

Furthermore, the iron content of the ore is very high, even exceeding the highest quality iron ore on Earth.

This ultra-high-quality iron ore is very easy to smelt and process into finished steel.

It's important to know that steel is the most basic industrial raw material. As long as there is steel, many things can be processed locally on Mars without the need to transport them from distant Earth.

Jiang Cheng ultimately decided on this location for the Mars Base because of the high-quality shallow iron ore vein.

This iron ore vein is exceptionally rare, with extraction and smelting being so easy.

If this ore vein were on Earth, it would surely be contested by many companies.

Unfortunately, there are no such good iron ore veins on Earth, causing those companies to envy from afar.

This is one of the advantages of developing outer space, and this is just Mars, the nearest planet to Earth, yet it already possesses such rich mineral resources.

Moreover, Mars is not limited to just this ore vein; many excellent mineral deposits are waiting to be developed there.

Iron ore is only in high demand for building the base; its actual value is relatively low.

At the very least, iron mined from Mars cannot be transported back to Earth for sale, as transporting such a worthless material over such a distance is simply foolish.

The cost of transportation alone is many times higher than the price of iron ore, making it not worth sending back to Earth.

But this doesn't mean that developing Mars is meaningless; while iron ore might be worthless, Mars has valuable resources.

During the last detailed exploration of Mars, Jiang Cheng found several platinum veins.

These platinum veins on Mars have a gold reserve far exceeding Earth's largest platinum mine, with an easier extraction process than Earth's veins.

Following Jiang Cheng's establishment of the base on Mars, he would be able to begin mining platinum there.

Platinum is a very precious metal, its reserves on Earth are extremely low, and hence the price remains high.

The platinum reserves on Mars already detected are dozens of times those on Earth, making mining platinum on Mars very promising.

Although considering the current transportation costs from Mars to Earth, shipping platinum back is somewhat unprofitable.

However, with technology constantly advancing, the future cost of space transportation will surely keep decreasing.

Jiang Cheng's new rocket, which has been in development, will further reduce space transportation costs once finalized.

It's anticipated that by the time platinum mining on Mars becomes feasible, transportation costs will have dropped to a profitable level.

Then Jiang Cheng could earn money from this, with a steady stream of platinum saturating the Earth's market.

Possibly, platinum prices might drop due to Mars mining, but the significance of transporting platinum from Mars is still substantial.

The stability of platinum is very high, making it ideal for use as an industrial raw material.

Therefore, platinum, as a precious metal, not only serves as jewelry but also has great practical value.

Jiang Cheng knows that many spacecraft in the future will require large amounts of platinum.

If relying solely on purchasing from Earth, even with Jiang Cheng's wealth, meeting such platinum demand would be impossible.

Thus, the platinum on Mars solves this problem and is one of Jiang Cheng's purposes for developing Mars.

From this, one can see how barren Earth truly is, compared to the vast universe, Earth's resources are negligible.

Therefore, reaching for space is humanity's only path forward. Even within the solar system, countless resources are waiting for humans.

Astronauts are busy with preliminary preparations on Mars, while technical personnel on Earth are not idle.

The entire aerospace technology team is currently in a tense and busy state. Besides monitoring the situation on Mars at the space mission center.

The research and development team is also busy with their work, conducting final technical studies.

The establishment of a Mars Base requires many new technologies, which these technicians are preparing now.

While astronauts are working hard on Mars, the scene inside Cosmic Umbrella Aerospace Technology Company is bustling and busy.

Humanity has now fully set foot on Mars, marking the successful completion of phase one of the Mars development plan.

Next is to initially establish a permanent base on Mars as the main hub for Mars development.

This is the second step of the entire Mars development plan and its most crucial part.

To carry out development on Mars, and possibly achieve future Mars colonization, a permanent Mars Base is essential.

This Mars Base must first protect humans living on Mars, at least be sturdy enough to withstand unforeseen events on Mars.

Inside the Mars Base, there must be adequate life support systems that can guarantee humans' basic needs on Mars.

Oxygen production equipment is a necessity. Humans cannot survive more than ten minutes without oxygen, which is the first element of survival. The base should ideally sustain some simple living organisms to reduce transport hassles.

Especially the food issue, which should be resolved within the base. If humans on Mars must have all their food transported from Earth, Mars development would merely be a dream.

This Mars Base must achieve basic self-sufficiency to ensure the progress of Mars development.

Achieving this is not an easy task, which is why the entire development team is now busy working on it.

The issue of construction materials has been resolved; mining robots have already been produced in quantity. Once transported to Mars, they can continuously extract various ores.

Matching smelting and forging equipment and maintenance robots have also been produced.

After recent efforts, materials needed for constructing the Mars Base have essentially been resolved.

However, construction materials are only a minor issue; challenges in other areas are the real headaches.

The most troublesome part is the base's life support system, which concerns human safety on Mars and cannot be compromised.