Provocative new research suggests that astronauts’ blood, when mixed with Martian soil, can they produce a durable substance similar to concrete. Incredibly, other human body fluids were shown to make this biocomposite even stronger.
The first settlers to arrive on Mars will have to build shelters and spaces to work, but the red planet is not exactly boiled with hardware stores and material suppliers.
Ideally, settlers could use some of the things on Mars, such as regolith (soil), rocks, and water, the latter of which is scarce and difficult to access. The problem is that these on-site resources do not magically combine to produce viable building materials.
Of course, we could always send a bunch of bricks to Mars, but this presents a ridiculously expensive proposal. Estimates to suggest that it would cost more than $ 2 million to transport a single brick to the red planet, which yes, that won’t happen.
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New research published in Materials Today Bio could come to the rescue. The resources needed to produce a substance similar to the concrete could come directly from the settlers themselves, in the form of blood, sweat, tears and urine, according to the study, co-author of chemist Nigel Scrutton of the University of Manchester.
“Scientists have been trying to develop viable technologies to produce concrete-like materials on the surface of Mars, but we’ve never stopped to think that the answer might be within us,” said Aled Roberts, also of the University of Manchester. a statement.
In tests, researchers showed that human serum albumin (HSA), a common protein found in blood plasma, can act as a binder when combined with a simulated Martian i lunar regular. AstroCrete, as they say, it turned out to be as hard as concrete and in some cases even harder.
This idea did not arise from the air, like the blood of animals and other parts of animals historically has been used to produce building materials such as binders and glue. The ancient Romans, for example, used animal blood when making concrete. Researchers suspect that the process of denaturation or blood clotting is responsible for the binding power of AstroCrete.
In tests, the blood-based binder produced a concrete-like substance with compressive strengths reaching 25 Megapascals (MPa), which is comparable to normal concrete. Subsequent tests with the addition of urea, a biological waste product found in urine, sweat and tears, further increased the compressive strength by 300%. The best combination of HSA and urea resulted in a compressive strength of 40 MPa, which is considerably stronger than normal concrete. It is important to note that the team performed these tests with simulated Martian regolith; the real may not respond exactly that way.
Scientists propose that AstroCrete could be used as an aggregate material to fill sandbags or to make hot-melted bricks. To get the required amounts of HSA, the crew would have to donate blood twice a week. According to the newspaper, a two-year mission with six settlers could allow the production of 1,100 pounds (500 kg) of the high-strength version of AstroCrete. In the event that each crew member enters with their blood and urine, the colony would have enough material to double the available housing in the two-year period, laying the groundwork for future newcomers.
An advantage of AstroCrete is that, unlike “other proposed binder materials, the production of HSA does not require any additional synthesis technology such as bioreactors or synthetic polymer / resin production equipment, which would add additional mass (and, for both spending on a Martian mission, as well as increasing the demand for energy, water and workload, and also being susceptible to component failure, ”according to the study. In addition, the team demonstrated that biocompost can be printed in 3D.
As a relevant section, the team considered other human resources in situ, such as nails, hair, dead skin cells, mucus, and poop. In terms of poop, the team cited previous research that showed that it is not possible to make knives from frozen poop: a to study who won thosand scientists Ig Nobel Prize. Since temperatures on Mars can drop as low as -81 degrees C (-81 degrees F), Scrutton and colleagues played with the idea of ”tools based on frozen or dried feces.” But, as the researchers write in their study, “due to health and safety issues, we have not been able to explore human-based feces. [extraterrestrial regolith biocomposites] in this study. ”Shame. But that seems like a good idea for a future experiment.
The new paper is really neat, but scientists have yet to prove its process with a true Martian rule, as well as prove it. that its process and biocomposite material will work under Martian conditions. In addition, they must demonstrate that regular blood draw from crew members is safe. NPerhaps in the coming years new techniques could emerge to produce building materials on Mars making obsolete this idea of blood clotting.
Month: Missions to Mars should not exceed four years due to radiation risks, scientists say.