Researchers have recently succeeded in making a kind of space cement Its ingredients include soil similar to Mars or the moon, potatoes and salt. This type of cement has high strength and can promise the construction of space houses in the future.
Is space cement derived from potatoes safe?
Researchers from the University of Manchester, England, have shown in a study that space cement made from potatoes can be twice as strong as normal cement. They have used the starch in potatoes as an adhesive to bind the particles together and named their product StarCrete have left
In the discussed research, the soil simulator of Mars and the moon has been used to combine with potatoes and salt to make space cement. In the sample created with Mars soil, a resistance of 72 megapascals has been recorded; While this value for the soil of the moon is 91 megapascals. For comparison, it should be noted that the resistance of ordinary cements is around 32 MPa.
Spatial cement has other advantages, among which it can be mentioned that it is more durable and durable compared to ordinary cement. Scientists estimate that with only 25 kilograms of dehydrated potatoes, it is possible to create about one ton of this type of cement and make about 200 bricks with it. It is worth mentioning that about 7500 pieces of bricks are needed to build a typical 3-bedroom house on the ground.
In space missions, reducing the weight of cargo is of great importance and it seems that this new discovery can be useful in the future. Although mankind has not yet traveled to Mars and there is no news of building a colony on the moon; But many companies are working on removing the obstacles in the way of this project. The limitation of the volume and weight of the cargo, along with the high cost of transportation, has caused the materials available on the surface of Mars and the Moon to be proposed as a suitable alternative to create the structures needed for the development of colonies in the future.
