Powering Space Colonization

Space colonization is a fascinating topic. Tons of movies and Tv shows along with new scientific research being done make it very prevalent in todays society. That being said many of these ideas about space colonization are oversimplified in society and pop culture. The resources that are needed to power space colonization are quite complex and have several different variables. Some of the largest resources needed are money, food, oxygen, and several more for people to survive, but I am only going to focus on the fuel and natural resources  required to get to the new colonizations and the fuel needed to power those colonies. The natural resources needed for space colonization to exist are complicated.

Getting to any space colonization from earth or from another space colonization is going to require fuel to power the rockets. Currently the only rocket that could possibly be up for these tasks would be the SpaceX Falcon9. This rocket runs on a a rocket fuel called RP-1. Basically, this fuel is a very refined jet fuel and is made from coal. This fuel is then burned with liquid oxygen. Getting this fuel on earth is no easy task and requires tons of chemical energizers to prefect the fuel for the rockets. The issue arises when there are multiple space colonies and rockets are no longer only going between earth and one said colony. Natural resources for fuel will need to be easily accessible and ready so travel for supplies that are not able to be grown in space can be imported. 

Many natural resources can be found on planets and astroids. Coal however is made from the dead remains of plants from millions of years ago, therefore it cannot be mined from astroids or planets if they have no life. This means alternative energy sources need to be utilized for space colonization. The optimal energy resource would obviously be solar. Solar energy would offer great benefits for colonies living in space. It would be able to power basically everything they would need while living in space. It could power the rovers they driver around on to the all of their electronics, etc. The biggest issue with solar is it is no where near powerful enough, yet, to power any rocket. Solar is also an issue if there is every an eclipse or a large space storm. Eclipses in space from the moon can be drastically different from those on earth lasting several hours to multiple days. But alternative energy sources need to be found for both life support in space and transportation. 

Currently the best opportunity for alternative fuel sources is from water. This water would be mined from the ice in places like the poles of the moon and can through a very complicated process of splitting the Hydrogen and Oxygen atoms can be made into fuel. All in all the power behind staying alive and traveling to and from space colonizations is a huge issue.