StarCrete: A Strong and Sustainable Building Material for Extra-Terrestrial and Earthly Construction
Scientists have developed a new material called 'StarCrete' that could be used to build homes on Mars. It is made from extra-terrestrial dust, potato starch, and salt, and is twice as strong as ordinary concrete. Building infrastructure in space is currently expensive and difficult, and StarCrete offers a potential solution by using simple and easily available materials for construction in extra-terrestrial environments.
The University of Manchester research team published an article in the journal Open Engineering, showcasing how they used ordinary potato starch as a binder when mixed with simulated Mars dust to create a concrete-like material called StarCrete. Testing revealed that StarCrete had a compressive strength of 72 Megapascals (MPa), which is more than twice as strong as ordinary concrete with a compressive strength of 32 MPa. Moreover, StarCrete made from moon dust was even stronger, measuring over 91 MPa.
If StarCrete is used on Earth, it could provide a more environmentally friendly alternative to traditional concrete. Cement and concrete production are responsible for around 8% of global CO2 emissions, mainly because of the high energy requirements and firing temperatures used in the process. In contrast, StarCrete can be produced using an ordinary oven or microwave at much lower temperatures, reducing the energy costs of production. This could potentially lower the carbon footprint of construction projects and contribute to efforts to combat climate change...
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