A team of Chinese researchers is exploring the feasibility of producing building materials on Mars by melting its soil.
The possibility of “in-situ resource generation” is being investigated by scientists from the Xinjiang Technical Institute, the CAS Institute of Geochemistry and the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
The research aims to tackle one of the main problems with building in space or another planet, namely the cost of lifting material out of Earth’s gravity well.
Ma Pengcheng, the leader of the group, told news agency Xinhua that “although physical samples of Martian soil are currently not available, basalt, which is widely found on Earth, is very similar in terms of chemical composition, mineral composition and melting behaviour”.
The work also has to try to replicate Mars’ relatively low gravity and its unique atmosphere.
So far, the team has been able to show that melted soil can be made into a material that can be incorporated into a fibre-reinforced composite, which could be used to build a Martian base.
The Martian soil may completely melt at 1,360°C, creating an amorphous glass that is being analysed for potential uses.
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