Raw materials

Deimos is pitch black (extremely low albedo). This is due to a large proportion of carbonaceous chondrite material and primitive organic macromolecules.

Use: This is our most important industrial building block. From this carbon, we can produce graphene and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) for the tethers directly on site. This means we can manufacture the ultra-light carbon structures of the graphene tethers, the lift's gigantic anchor and coatings for high-temperature space components without having to fly in material from Earth.

Deimos and Phobos contain millions, perhaps even billions of tonnes of metals. Although these are usually not present as native (pure) metal, but bound in minerals such as olivine or pyroxene, they can be extracted.

Iron (Fe) & nickel (Ni): The basis for heavy structural components, stainless steel substitutes and magnetic components for expanding the habitation and production systems.

Magnesium (Mg) & aluminium (Al): Ideal for lightweight alloys in a vacuum, especially for expanding the habitat or building SpaZeLift components.

Most of the dry rock on Deimos and Phobos consists of silicates – compounds of silicon and oxygen.

Silicon (Si): After purification in the refineries, new solar cells can be printed. The heavy cores – the counterweights to the cargo – are also manufactured directly inside the Martian moons.

Oxygen (O): The oxygen released when the rock is melted supplements the life support systems and propellant production.

Since no probe has yet landed on Deimos to drill deep into its core (the Japanese MMX mission will not collect samples for several years), we rely on astrophysical models, density measurements and spectral analyses. The scientific data paint the following picture:

The density puzzle (why Deimos could contain water): Deimos has an extremely low average density of only about 1.48 g/cm³. Solid asteroid rock (silicates) is almost twice as dense. This leaves only two possible conclusions: either the moon is an extremely porous "rubble pile" (a flying heap of debris with up to 50% empty space inside) — or these cavities are not empty, but filled with light material such as water ice.

The Two Types of Water on Deimos

• Chemically bound water (hydrated minerals): Spectral analyses indicate the signature of hydrated minerals on the surface. If Deimos closely resembles carbonaceous chondrite meteorites (as assumed), 5–15% of the rock's mass consists of chemically bound water. Our microwave drills extract this water by heating the rock dust.
• Solid water ice in the core: Astrophysical models that calculate the low density and the moment of inertia suggest that solid water ice lies hidden deep inside, shielded from solar radiation. Optimistic models estimate the proportion of water ice at up to 30% of the total volume of Deimos.

What this means for our production: Even with a cautious estimate — an average of just 10% extractable water across both moons — the figures are enormous:

Deimos: 10% of 1.5 trillion tonnes
150 billion tonnes of water

Phobos: 10% of 10 trillion tonnes
1 trillion tonnes of water

In addition to water, the rock contains traces of nitrogen (N), sulphur (S) and phosphorus (P).

Use: This is the key to long-term survival in space. We need these elements as biological fertilisers. Greenhouses (hydroponic or aeroponic) inside the moons will supply the crew with fresh food independently. We extract the necessary nutrients directly from Deimos and Phobos dust.