Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by martyb on Friday April 28 2017, @02:54PM   Printer-friendly
from the under-pressure dept.

http://www.theverge.com/2017/4/27/15436154/mars-soil-simulant-study-building-human-missions

Simulated Mars soil can be packed together into a solid brick-like material — without needing any added ingredients to hold it together. That might mean real Martian soil could be easily used as a tool for building structures like habitats on the Red Planet's surface, which could make human missions to Mars less complicated to pull off.

A group of engineers figured this out by using a high-pressure hammer to mash together material known as Mars soil simulant. It's a collection of rocks from Earth that have the same chemical makeup as the dirt found on Mars, as well as grains that are of a similar shape and size as Martian grains. After working with the material for a while, the engineers found that just adding the right amount of pressure was enough to form the soil into tiny, stiff blocks — stronger than steel-reinforced concrete.

[...] the researchers think there is some ingredient already in the Martian soil that helps it to stick together. They ultimately landed on iron oxide — a chemical compound that gives Martian soil its signature red color. When iron oxide is crushed, it can crack easily, forming fractures with very clean and flat surfaces, according to [Yu] Qiao [a structural engineer at University of California, San Diego, and the lead researcher on a NASA-funded study about this technique]. And when these surfaces are firmly pressed together, they form super strong bonds.

But these bricks aren't a complete solution to construction on Mars — at least not yet. The team only made miniature bricks, so it's possible that larger Martian bricks won't hold up so well. And it's not clear how durable they are either, which is important for a few reasons. Obviously, you don't want your structure to collapse. But less obviously, dust from the soil could break off into the air that astronauts are breathing, and inhaling large enough particles could cause health problems. The dust may also contain a type of salt known as perchlorate, which has been found throughout the Martian surface. Perchlorates can be toxic to human thyroid glands. So more research needs to be done to better understand these risks.

The full report is available: Direct Formation of Structural Components Using a Martian Soil Simulant, Scientific Reports 7, Article number: 1151 (2017) doi:10.1038/s41598-017-01157-w.


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 28 2017, @06:08PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 28 2017, @06:08PM (#501247)

    Someone who isn't aware of their own impaired mental state will not want to hear, "I'm calling the police for you."

    Starting Score:    0  points
    Moderation   +1  
       Informative=1, Total=1
    Extra 'Informative' Modifier   0  

    Total Score:   1