Brief
Scientists at the University of Manchester have developed a new ‘cosmic concrete,’ named StarCrete, for construction on outer worlds. Composed of extraterrestrial dust, potato starch, and salt, the material is twice as strong as regular concrete and has potential as a more environmentally friendly alternative. Learn more about this innovation in space exploration.
Insight
Researchers at the University of Manchester have developed a new concrete, composed of extraterrestrial dust, potato starch, and salt, which could be used to build human settlements on the Moon and Mars. The new material, known as “StarCrete,” is twice as strong as regular concrete and has a strength of 72 Megapascals (MPa), while ordinary concrete has a strength of 32 MPa.
When tested with moondust, StarCrete outperformed all others at 91 MPa. A 55-pound (25 kilogram) sack of potatoes contains enough starch to produce nearly half a tonne of StarCrete, which can be used to construct habitats in outer worlds. The researchers also found that common salt and astronaut tears could further help to improve the strength of the material.
The new material could be a more environmentally friendly alternative to traditional concrete used on Earth, as cement and concrete production account for about eight percent of global CO2 emissions.
The researchers note that StarCrete could simplify the mission, making it cheaper and more feasible. Furthermore, surplus starch produced as food for inhabitants could be used for construction, integrating two critical systems and significantly simplifying the architecture needed to sustain early extraterrestrial colonies.
After optimization, lunar and Martian StarCrete achieved compressive strengths of 91.7 and 72.0 MPa, respectively, which is well within the domain of high-strength concrete (>42 MPa) and surpasses most other proposed technology solutions despite being a relatively low-energy process.
The team had previously tested human blood and urine as a binding agent, but it was deemed impractical for large-scale work, and astronaut health could be jeopardized in a harsh space environment. Dr. Aled Roberts, lead researcher for this project, said, “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 add 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.” The team plans to continue to experiment with enhancing the strength of StarCrete for future use.
Highlight
- Scientists at the University of Manchester have developed a new type of concrete made from extraterrestrial dust, potato starch and salt called StarCrete that is twice as strong as regular concrete and could be used for construction on other planets.
- StarCrete has a strength of 72 Megapascals (MPa), while ordinary concrete has a strength of 32 MPa. When tested with moondust, StarCrete outperformed all others at 91 MPa.
- A 55-pound (25 kilogram) sack of potatoes contains enough starch to produce nearly half a tonne of StarCrete, or 213 bricks. Common salt (magnesium chloride, which is found on Mars) and astronaut tears could further help to improve the strength of this material.
- Using starch as a binding agent is an environmentally friendly and cost-effective alternative to traditional concrete used on Earth, which contributes to global CO2 emissions.
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