As NASA works towards the goal of sending a manned mission to Mars by the mid-2030s, Germany-based firm ZA Architects has released mind-blowing photos of what homes could look like on the Red Planet.

Since the conditions on the surface of Mars are rather severe, ZA Architects would send robots ahead of the humans to start the building process. The robots' first priority would be analyzing the surface, which is mostly made of the element basalt.

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"Martian surface is primarily composed of the basalt — igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of basaltic lava," the firm explains. "During the cooling, it forms topology of the tightly packed hexagonal in section columns."

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The robots would then dig underground, transforming the area below into underground caverns. The basalt would serve as a strong ceiling, insulating the underground homes from the planet's harsh elements on the surface.

Once the caverns are cleared, astronauts would join the robots to finish the work. Together, they'd add water and oxygen supplies, as well as prepare the soil for agriculture.

ZA Architects is sharing its designs with Weather.com in the slideshow above. You can read more on the firm's Mars colonization concept here.

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