Hi everyone, Aled Roberts here. I’m here to answer any of your questions about this project.
Summary:
Sending materials to Mars is really expensive, so future human colonists on the Red Planet will need to make use of any resources they can obtain on the planet itself. This concept is known as in situ resource utilization (ISRU) and typically focusses on using Martian dust and rock (also known as regolith), water deposits and atmospheric gasses. Of course, humans will also be present on any crewed mission to Mars, so it makes sense (in my mind) to consider them as a potential source of natural resources too.
In this study, we found that a common protein from human blood plasma (called human serum albumin, or HSA) could act as a surprisingly strong binder (or glue) for Lunar and Martian regolith, forming a strong concrete-like material – which we’ve termed AstroCrete (astronaut-concrete).
Furthermore, we found that a common chemical obtainable from urine (urea) could increase the strength of the materials by up to 300% in some instances.
Project background:
We were trying to develop a bio-based adhesive made from synthetic spider silk, when we accidentally found that a protein from cow blood (called Bovine Serum Albumin) stuck glass together really well. Since it could stick glass, we figured it would also stick sand together – since glass and sand are made out of the same stuff (silicon dioxide). A quick test confirmed this. We then figured it should also be able to stick moon and Mars dust together too – since these are also mainly silicon dioxide.
But then we thought, we can’t realistically take cows to the moon/Mars – but HUMANS will be there on any crewed mission anyway – so could we use the equivalent human blood protein instead?
What we did it:
The process is quite simple. Essentially you can buy the protein from a supplier, dissolve it in water (optionally adding urea, also obtained from a supplier) then infuse it with simulated moon/Mars dust (again obtained from a supplier) in a disposable syringe – then heat it to 65 Celsius overnight. By the morning, the materials are dry and hard.
Next steps:
I have a few mad ideas that I’d like to explore next, including:
· Materials made from human skin. Seriously, humans shed a lot of skin, and on a trip to Mars this will accumulate in the air filtration systems. I’d like to see if anything useful could be done with it.
· A material I call “Sement”. I won’t elaborate.
· Using pl
... keep reading on reddit ➡Today's card is Mars University (#073):
Active card (Blue) | Corporate Era
Cost: 8 | Requirements: None | Tags: Science, Building
Effect: When you play a science tag, including this, you may discard a card from hand to draw a card.
1 VP
Come on, we're just kids :(
Hello! My husband and I will be moving to San Diego in a month or two for his new job, which is located between Del Mar and Torrey Pines. We’re in our mid-twenties and both work in consulting. We’ve been to San Diego once but don’t know the area super well. From what I can tell, both of these neighborhoods are somewhat affordable - we’re hoping to pay $3200 or less for a two bedroom. Any opinions on the two? Which would you choose?
The University of Sassari, CRS4, the Aerospace District of Sardinia (DASS), the University of Cagliari, and the Tolo Green company of Oristano have filed a request for a patent that could be decisive for the survival of living beings on Mars.
It is a kit comprising a clinostat and a camera with an atmosphere of CO2, which can reproduce extraterrestrial conditions such as those on Mars.
This instrument allows for the growth of microalgae in the absence of gravity and can assess the behaviour in such conditions of human, vegetal, and animal cells including in a simulated Martian atmosphere.
Coordinated work made it possible to create terrain for the fertile culture of alga spirulina, the new "green gold" that grows in extraterrestrial living conditions.
With gravity at almost zero, achieved through a cliostat fitted out to simulate the atmosphere on Mars, the algae - provided by the Tolo Green company - prospers, as shown in experiments conducted by a research group coordinated by Antonella Pantaleo from the Department of Biomedical Sciences from the University of Sassari.
Since 2006, CRS4, the University of Cagliari, and DASS have been developing - under Giacomo Cao - research on microalgae.
This research has shown that alga spirulina in an extraterrestrial environment can serve both the purpose of providing food for astronauts and that of generating oxygen, using the CO2-satured atmosphere of Mars.
"The collaboration between CRS4 and Tolo Green has generated the opportunity that today we are taking advantage of and that we want to, and must, develop also in the future," said Gilberto Gabrielli of Tolo Green, a company now taking part in the Dubai Expo as one of the most interesting representations of Italian, biological, and microalgae sector technological innovations.
Who has listened to both podcasts series? Your thoughts?
They both brought light to things I didn't know about Mark Driscoll and Jerry Falwell Jr. There were lessons to be learned in both podcasts.
Gangster Capitalism was a bit more sensationalized but I appreciated their frankness and not pulling any punches. The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill tried to be less offensive.
