The Martian Mindset

The Cluster of Excellence "The Martian Mindset"
will contribute to a sustainable human exploration of space and power a green transition on Earth.

A Scarcity-Driven Engineering Paradigm

Scarcity of resources will be one of the key challenges for our planet in the future. One place where extreme resource scarcity is already a reality is Mars - a desert-like planet, without fossil fuels or extensive water resources and surrounded only by a thin CO2 atmosphere. These non-negotiable boundary conditions serve as an experimental setting to develop a new paradigm of sustainability. With the Martian Mindset, we rethink the use of severely limited resources from the ground up and will design radically new production systems and manufacturing processes for this scenario.

The Martian Mindset will lay the foundations for a fossil-fuel-free production of materials and parts from scarce resources in a highly automated and resilient way. The three research areas focus on the following objectives:

The development of (bio)electrochemical methods that do not require fossil fuels and can be used to extract metals, plastics, and other (vital) raw materials such as oxygen even from low-grade starting materials.

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The experimental demonstration of low-energy process chains with which a range of components of “enough-to-use” quality can be produced from the raw materials obtained.

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The design of novel operating concepts for production systems that are operated jointly by small teams of humans and robots under great uncertainty and with limited information.

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23.05.2025

Historic Success: University of Bremen Acquires Funding for Two Clusters of Excellence for the First Time

Scientists from the marine and materials sciences impressed the German federal and state governments in the Excellence Strategy: Two Clusters of Excellence have been awarded to Bremen. This also qualifies the university to apply for the title of “University of Excellence.”

22.08.2024

University of Bremen Enters the Race for Excellence with Two Clusters

The University of Bremen has submitted a full application and an application for continuation in the Excellence Strategy of the Federal and State Government. The university enters the race with its high-profile areas Materials Science and MARUM – together with the University of Oldenburg.

01.02.2024

Bremen Materials Science Clear First Hurdle on the Way to Excellence Funding

"With the Martian perspective, we will rethink the production of materials under the premise of resource scarcity." 'The Martian Mindset: A Scarcity-Driven Engineering Paradigm' has achieved initial success.

Humans on Mars Initiative

The Cluster of Excellence “The Martian Mindset” builds on decades of scientific expertise in two of Bremen's research and transfer priority areas: Materials Science and Technologies and Aerospace Engineering. Since 2021, the “Humans on Mars” initiative has merged and enhanced this with the fields of behavioral sciences and communication technology to form an interdisciplinary consortium.

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