A NASA is moving further and further in its plan to establish bases in Moon in the next decade, and the next big step after this mission will be to send astronauts to Mars. Thinking about this, a group of scientists from the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom contributed to the development of a new type of concrete called star critwhich can be used for building on the Red Planet.

The material is made in a “simple” way from extraterrestrial dust, potato starch, which will be part of the astronauts’ diet, and salt. The result is a mixture twice as strong as conventional concrete that can be produced off-Earth, as described in a scientific journal. open engineering.

Scientists have found that magnesium chloride, a common element on Mars, can boost StarCrete’s strength. When used with simulated planetary dust, it has a compressive strength of 72 MPa (megapascals), reaching 91 MPa if lunar dust is also used – by comparison, regular concrete has “only” 32 MPa.

The material also contributes to the environment

In addition to being effective in regards to the “strength” of the object, it is also sustainable. It only requires a conventional oven at normal cooking temperatures to produce it; a much simpler technology than traditional concrete production, which requires a lot of energy and is responsible for most of the global carbon emissions.

While there are still many hurdles to overcome before astronauts can establish a permanent presence on Mars, the discovery of StarCrete is a big step towards that goal. With building materials, NASA will be able to send teams to the Red Planet with the confidence that they will have a safe and stable shelter. Our first colony elsewhere in space is a little closer to reality.

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Source: Gizmodo

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