The lead in space exploration research has always been taken by materials science, and it seems to have gotten even more attention recently. It's also true for building materials. NASA has funded several new research programs to develop new building materials that can do everything from providing structure to future human habs. Researchers at the University of Delaware have made one step closer to the second goal.
A method for making a type ofgeopolymer out of Mars and lunar regolith is described in a paper.
It's risky to land a rocket on a moon. Dust and rocks blown skyward by the downdraft of the column of flame the rocket emits could damage the rocket itself. A landing pad is the best way to prevent that hazard. One made with regular concrete can't survive a rocket blast without breaking into larger pieces. Those are the places wheregeopolymers come in.
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They are ideal for serving as the landing pad material for rockets. How do you get them off of earth? In Delaware, the team focused on that.
They used Martian and lunar regolith as a basis for making the geopolymer, which was created using a mixture of clay and a solvent with a high pH. The researchers allowed the mixture to cure for seven days before testing the new material.
They were looking for certain properties in the materials they created. The Maritan conditions weren't as nice. The reaction to form the geopolymer didn't happen at all at -80C. In a vacuum, which is1-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-6556
Future space explorers could either use a system that heats up and pressesurizes the extraterrestrial clay so that the reaction would happen as expected, or they could use a system that doesn't heat up. There are possibilities that could be done at ambient temperatures on the Moon and Mars. It would take more research to make a decision.
It is possible to work on the material science side as well. It would take hundreds to thousands of kilograms of the stuff to make enough for a single landing pad and it would cost a lot to launch it from Earth. More recent research has shown that clays may not be as common on Mars as was thought, making the other material component harder to find.
Either way, explorers will eventually need a landing pad to make sure their rocket doesn't blow up in the air. The solution that has been offered so far seems to begeopolymers. Someone will eventually find a long-term solution for material science.
You can learn more.
The University of Delaware has Extraterrestrial Civil Liberties.
There is a comparison of lunar and Martian regolith cements.
UT is wondering how well concrete works in space.
Blood and urine from astronauts could help build structures on the moon.
The astronauts tried mixing concrete in space.
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