Gigantic kites flown by robots could harness Mars's strong winds and power human colonies

With NASA aiming to get humans to Mars by 2030, the idea of a long-term settlement on the Red Planet is getting closer to reality and scientists are working on innovated ways to power these habitats. Researchers in the Netherlands propose using massive kites to harness high Martian winds that would transformed into energy for colonists. The kite is attached by cable to a spindle. Similar kites are being developed to harness wind power on Earth, but these would be much larger, with a surface area of 530 square feet. Wind turbines and batteries are too heavy to bring to Mars via rocket, and the planet doesn't get enough sunlight to consider solar power.