> Continuing to develop this tech could make it useful for setting up buildings in hostile environments.
To add to this: If you've ever been to these embedments after the fact, they can leave behind a lot of waste/trash. Namely, concrete (pads, walls, etc). Much of which cannot be easily re-used and breaking it down is expensive/hard.
You use 80% locally sourced materials, if the base just gets left, and starts to breaks down, all you wind up with is mostly original dirt from the area instead of toxic concrete dust.
PS - Although Hesco barrier[0] has also made very positive inroads here, replacing concrete with mostly local dirt, chicken wire, and fabric. But it cannot be used for dwellings, only perimeter wall.
Agree for Mars - this tech will translate well into other areas of need in hostile environments - like agriculture, mining, large scale manufacturing etc.
Continuing to develop this tech could make it useful for setting up buildings in hostile environments. Initially deserts and the arctic/antarctic.
But eventually using unattended robots to construct structures on the Moon and Mars.
I think the relevant Onion article is this classic from 1998: "New $5,000 Multimedia Computer System Downloads Real-Time TV Programs, Displays Them On Monitor" https://www.theonion.com/new-5-000-multimedia-computer-syste...
20 years later analog TV is long dead. TVs are now computers.
This probably won't add up to much in the next 20 years. But it's early tech and there are exciting long term possibilities.