On Mars, the colonists will have to give of themselves to build the first homes for the colony of the red planet. Literally. Due to a lack of space available in the rockets which will take the first astronauts there, construction will have to be done with resources already present.
Martian regolith – the dust present in quantity on the soil of Mars – appears to be the main ingredient available to the builders of the first local bases. However, to make a house with stones and earth, you have to delve into the techniques of Roman antiquity, says Popular Science.
Sediments from Martian regolith to produce a kind of concrete
At the time, it was possible to create concrete with resilience, strength and even self-healing properties. But to make this material, the masons had to add atypical components: blood and urine.
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To verify the possibility of transferring this technique from ancient Rome to Mars, members of Iran’s Kharazmi University attempted to reproduce the material on Earth. They used sediments found on the Red Planet to mix and test several materials that could potentially be suitable for future Martian construction.
“The ancient Romans used organic additives, including animal blood, primarily to improve the durability and workability of their mortar”describe the researchers in a study published in Acta Astronautica. “Although it’s a bit strange, blood can be used to create solid concrete or bricks for construction on Mars”they conclude.
72 weeks for a single human to provide enough plasma
Researchers at Iran’s Kharazmi University have so far identified eleven potential concrete options. It is therefore possible to adapt the recipe according to the region and the specificity of the local regolith.
However, the astronauts who colonize the planet will not need to return to the time of bloodletting. In the blood, it is human serum albumin – a protein present in blood plasma – which makes it possible to bind the regolith aggregates during the manufacture of Astrocrete, the name of this Martian concrete.
Plasma makes up more than half of a human’s total blood volume. It helps transport blood cells within the body. But this part has the particularity of regenerating very quickly. However, it would be necessary to wait 72 weeks for a person to deliver the plasma necessary to manufacture the Astrocrete necessary for the construction of a single home.
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