Scientists at the University of Manchester have developed a concrete-like material that could be made with extraterrestrial dust and used to build colonies on the moon and on Mars. More about StarCrete is a concrete-like material that could be made from extraterrestrial dust
South Korean studio Unseenbird has designed a cafe in downtown Seoul, where vegetables are grown in a glass-fronted cultivation room before being harvested, prepared and served to customers on a conveyor belt. More about Sik Mul Sung is a Mars-themed cafe with its own vertical farm
Bathroom company Duravit has designed a toilet that could be used in future homes on Mars and installed it at the prototype Martian House in Bristol, UK. More about Duravit develops Martian toilet to be "as simple and comfortable as possible"
UK studios Hugh Broughton Architects and Pearce+ have collaborated with artists Ella Good and Nicki Kent to create an inflatable building that explores how people would live on Mars. More about Golden Martian House inflated on Bristol dockside
Ukrainian architecture practice Makhno Studio has designed a 3D-printed settlement for Mars named Plan C that would encircle the edge of a crater. More about Makhno Studio designs conceptual settlement within Martian crater
Bjarke Ingels' studio BIG is collaborating with construction technology company ICON and NASA to create Mars Dune Alpha, a 3D-printed structure designed to simulate living on Mars. More about BIG and ICON to 3D-print structure exploring "new Martian vernacular" for NASA
In this week's comments update, readers are considering a concept for a self-sufficient city on Mars and sharing their views on other top stories. More about "The idea of inhabiting Mars is merely fanciful fiction" says commenter
This video shows a fly-through of Nüwa, which has been designed by architecture studio Abiboo to be the first permanent city on Mars. More about Watch a fly-through of Mars city designed for quarter of a million people
Architecture studio Abiboo has designed the concept for a self-sufficient city on Mars named Nüwa that could be built in 2054. Its architect explains the project to Dezeen. More about Abiboo envisions cliff-face city as "future capital of Mars"
Hugh Broughton Architects and Pearce+ are creating Martian House, an inflatable building in Bristol, England, that will explore what an extraterrestrial house for life on Mars could look like.
More about Gold inflatable house for Mars designed by Hugh Broughton Architects and Pearce+
Design studio House of van Schneider has created a visual identity for NASA's Mars 2020 mission, which condenses the red planet, the Earth and the rover into three simple, flat shapes. More about House of van Schneider designs minimal logo for NASA's Mars mission
The Moving to Mars exhibition, which opens tomorrow at London's Design Museum, explores putting humans on the red planet as the final frontier for design. More about "Surviving on Mars could teach us how to live more sustainably on earth", says Design Museum's Moving to Mars curator
Warith Zaki and Amir Amzar have envisioned using bamboo grown and harvested on Mars to build the first colony on the red planet. More about Malaysian designers propose building colony on Mars from locally grown bamboo
Researchers at Harvard University have devised a way to terraform Mars by placing sheets of silica aerogel on the planet's surface, which would warm it up to make it suitable for growing plants. More about Scientists develop "greenhouse shields" to grow food on Mars
Bartlett graduate George Bradford-Smith has designed an astronaut training facility that clings to the face of Mont Blanc to imitate Mars' extreme environmental conditions. More about George Bradford-Smith proposes astronaut training facility on face of Mont Blanc
Mars One, the Dutch company that held an open call for volunteer astronauts to settle on Mars, has gone into liquidation. More about Mars One space colonisation company declares bankruptcy
NASA has selected the five winning designs in the latest stage of its 3D-printed Habitat competition, which include a community of modular pods made from the Martian surface, and a vertical egg-like container. More about NASA announces winners of competition to design 3D-printed habitat for Mars
Seven designers have created flags for the Martian Flag Assembly exhibition at the headquarters of IKEA's innovation lab Space10, in Copenhagen. More about Designers create Martian flags for Space10 exhibition
SpaceX CEO and Tesla founder Elon Musk will send his own Tesla Roadster sports car to space today, aboard the maiden flight of the Falcon Heavy rocket. More about Elon Musk sends his Tesla Roadster to space aboard "world's most powerful" rocket
Stefano Boeri has suggested that a "new Shanghai" made up of "vertical forests" could be built on Mars, should rising sea levels render Earth uninhabitable. More about Stefano Boeri imagines dome-covered Mars colony with "vertical forests"