[Space] What’s the minimum resources required for Asteroid or Comet habitats?

[Mysterious Dark Lord v3.2]

Power supply - Solar and fission are good. Solar is better in terms of availability (mirrors to focus sunlight will help in the outer system), while fission is good if you need to operate energy-heavy systems. But if you need power anywhere without excessive worries, then I'd go for thermoelectricity. Once you get the thermocouples set up, any temperature gradient will generate some power. And of course if you're near a body with a magnetic field, just throw out a cable.

Construction materials - A lot of people think that the materials have to be refined. Not so. With a power source, you can melt most materials. Then mold them into shape, let them set, and voila. Of course, if you're in the outer system and using volatile materials like ice, some insulation might be recommended.

Life-sustaining chemicals - Hydrogen, oxygen, carbon. All very common in asteroidal ices, comets, and on moons of outer system worlds. Combine them in a variety of manners, and you get water, fertilizer, plastic, fuel, etc.

Industrial materials - Silicon is very common. Iron and aluminum are fairly common. Other metals are not unknown. The rare earths needed for the really advanced electronics are not quite as rare, but unlikely to be in convenient ores. Some "dumbing down" (replacing some electronics with vacuum tubes, substituting electromechanical dedicated controls for versatile digital computers, etc.) may be helpful. Substitutes for structural materials will be required.

That's my thoughts.

[Johnny1A.2]

Originally Posted by Mysterious Dark Lord v3.2

Life-sustaining chemicals - Hydrogen, oxygen, carbon. All very common in asteroidal ices, comets, and on moons of outer system worlds. Combine them in a variety of manners, and you get water, fertilizer, plastic, fuel, etc.

True, but the combining process is non-trivial, and the necessary trace elements are very necessary.