You’ve seen inflatable concrete houses, now here’s a first look at StarCrete-based cosmic concrete, which is twice as strong as the regular material. It was developed by University of Manchester scientists and this innovative material, consisting of extraterrestrial dust, potato starch, and a salt, could one day be used to build structures on Mars.
The scientists basically mixed simulated Martian soil with potato starch and a bit of salt to create the material that is twice as strong as normal concrete and perfect for construction work in extraterrestrial environments. A 55-pound bag of dehydrated potatoes contain enough starch to make almost half a ton of StarCrete, or the equivalent of more than 213 bricks. Magnesium chloride, a common salt, can be harvested from the Martian surface or from the tears of astronauts to significantly improve the strength of StarCrete.
- Two grab handles on each bow and an all-around
- Also included are two 54 inch aluminum oars and an intex
- Holders and rotational oar locks
Since we will be producing starch as food for astronauts, it made sense to look at that as a binding agent rather than human blood. Also, current building technologies still need many years of development and require considerable energy and additional heavy processing equipment which all adds cost and complexity to a mission. StarCrete doesn’t need any of this and so it simplifies the mission and makes it cheaper and more feasible,” said Dr Aled Roberts, Research Fellow at the Future Biomanufacturing Research Hub, The University of Manchester.
