What materials would we gather first to build and sustain a space colony?

Let's say Earth's nations meet up and decide to start to colonize space in the next ~50 years. What would the first resources/materials be, that we gather in space/from other planets that we need to build and sustain a colony? Where would we get them from? And which would we prioritize over others?

For clarification: Money is not a limiting factor here and these colonies don't need to be economically speaking successful. We want these colonies ASAP. Also, launching everything we need from Earth is not the goal of the mission, we want to build production facilities, farms and living space on other planets, moons, etc. Planetary colonies should be accompanied by space stations, so building materials and food production is needed for that too. Also colonization should only start in the ~ next 50 years and doesn't need to be done at that time. And only use technology that is likely to be around then, if possible.

I imagine a priority list for materials like this:

1. Fuel: Maybe harvested from the atmosphere, e.g. methane
2. Building materials: Mine for metals and carbon on the planets surface
3. Materials needed for repairing already built stuff: more high-tech materials to repair electrical stuff
4. Resources for humans like water, food, oxygen: water may be extracted from icy asteroids, food can be produced in greenhouses, plants produce oxygen, but it can also be harvested

posted almost 8 years ago

shniqq‭

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