Food: you don’t need a full 30 months, because it gets recycled (growing crops). About 6 or 7 months should be more than enough. That would be 200 days x 3 kg = 600 kg. Triple it for emergencies = 1800 kg.

Medical supplies … I’m really guessing here, but 200 kg should be enough for a eight man crew. 500 kg at most.

Recycling would have to be very tight, with less than 1% loss per month. For trips longer than 4 years, you would need to carry double what you need, just to account for losses.

Ideally, a series of 3 magnetic fields should be in place in order to live on the moon or on Mars, and to protect its waters–mobile, local and global magnetic fields:

To create a “global” magnetic field on Mars, a Superconducting Magnetic Ring would have to be imbedded deep into the crust, about 200′ deep. You’ll need to have a Superconducting Magnet that meets these specifications: variable ramping up from 2 to 14 Tesla; quench recovery; ability to sustain a “persistent current” indefinitely; backup and failure protection; 24/7 monitoring system. Super Pulsed Fiber Lasers such as the Photonic’s IPG laser will make lunar and Martian excavation projects a breeze compared to conventional drilling equipment: rocks will glow red hot and crumble. The Superconducting Magnetic Ring would have to be placed in a HORIZONTAL position, for the correct N-S alignment that is most similar to Earth’s magnetic field.

On Earth, the magnetic field on the SURFACE is only 0.5 to 2.0 gauss, while near the CORE, it’s approximately 100,000 gauss, or 10 Tesla. That’s because magnetic flux varies as the Inverse CUBE of the distance, R. Use a fluxgate magnetometer to measure the magnetic field.

A Samarium Cobalt magnet of 1 to 2 Tesla, imbedded 5′ under a compressed dome will create “local” magnetic fields, protecting about 50 inhabitants from cosmic rays.

Elongated Bar Magnets (200-300 gauss) strapped onto spacesuits will create a cosmic umbrella of “mobile” magnetic fields, deflecting cosmic rays while you walk and work. Eventually, a global magnetic field will be necessary in order to walk out of the dome and begin building an atmosphere.

METHANE gas will impart a blue color in the sky (based on studies of Uranus’ and Neptune’s atmospheres). Compost piles and farm/animal droppings are a natural source of methane.

Lunar and Martian CRATERS have to be filled with water, iron sulfate and phytoplankton. Thru photosynthesis, dimethyl sulfide (DMS) is released, generating cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). CCNs cling to water vapor and dust particles to create OXYGEN and CLOUDS.

The higher the octane fuel you use for cooking, the more water vapor and CO2 produced. Butane for example, produces more water vapor and CO2 than methane or propane. Build a Fischer Tropsch reactor to make propane and butane. Use a dehumidifier to condense the water vapor to water. Use an ozone machine to generate ozone.

Butane C4H10 + 6.5 O2 –> 4 CO2 + 5 H2O

We’d have to build an atmosphere from scratch, which isn’t as difficult as you may think. Believe it or not, we’ll need a lot of bakeries, restaurants, farms and food markets; we’ll also need to be active because the more active we are, the more water vapor and CO2 we add to a planet’s atmosphere, 24/7. Pretty soon it’ll be flooding on Mars! That is, the more we cook, and the more we eat, and the more active we are, the faster the atmospheric gases build up. Farm/animal droppings add nitrogen from nitrogenous wastes, while compost piles, landfills and sewers add methane gas. Methane is 25x more potent at heating an atmosphere than CO2.

In order to build up a substantial atmosphere quickly, we’ll need lots of people cooking, baking, grilling, barbecuing, simmering soup, etc. That’s because WATER VAPOR and CO2 are the 2 primary byproducts of AEROBIC RESPIRATION and COMBUSTION. Add methane gas and you now have 3 potent greenhouse gases which will build a rich and thick atmosphere over time, while balancing temperature extremes.

Aerobic Respiration:
C6H12O6 + 6 O2 → 6 CO2 + 6 H2O + ATP (energy)

Bring a bunch of furry animals with you to “bioform” the planet, since all mammals (groundhogs, chipmunks, rabbits, moles, gophers, squirrels, gerbils, hamsters, lorises, lemurs, etc) give off water vapor, CO2 and methane gas. All 3 are potent greenhouse gases which can build a rich and thick atmosphere while balancing out temperature extremes. Just fill a silo with dry pet food, fill a crater with clean water and provide salt licks. You might also set up a dome for them when temperatures get extreme, or they’ll naturally run to craters and dig tunnels, making like a groundhogs.