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This technology requires only a small quantity of materials from Earth, meaning it could become a key component of interstellar real estate.
Researchers from the Amber research centre hosted at Trinity College Dublin (TCD) have developed a technology that could help build structures on the moon and Mars.
The team at Amber, the Taighde Éireann – Research Ireland Centre for Advanced Materials and Bioengineering Research, found that loose surface deposits of dust and broken rocks (called regolith) on the moon and Mars can be converted into building materials using advanced materials called carbon nanotubes.
In a research piece published earlier this year, the team showed how carbon nanotubes (extremely small, straw-like structures made of carbon atoms) can be used to bind fine sand and lunar and Martian regolith into solid ‘blocks’ as strong as granite.
Now, the research is getting renewed attention as a result of the ongoing World Space Week held between 4 and 10 October every year.
“Our research at Amber shows that carbon nanotubes have mechanical properties superior to even the strongest polymers,” said project lead Prof Jonathan Coleman, who recently featured in SiliconRepublic.com’s Science Uncovered series.
“The research has revealed that small quantities of carbon nanotubes can be solution-mixed with various inorganic powders, including lunar and Martian simulants, with low-temperature pressing at 70°C leading to impressively robust composites.”
Earlier attempts to create extraterrestrial construction did not turn out as successfully, with polymer-based concretes requiring temperatures as high as 300 degrees Celsius to melt the necessary materials.
The material developed by the team at Amber can also conduct electricity and change its electrical resistance when a mechanical strain like push or pull is applied to it (piezoresistivity). This means that it can be used as a sensor to monitor the structural health of the structures it makes.
With this technology, astronauts only need “small quantities of additives” and water from Earth to mix with regolith to form a “slurry” that can be compacted to form lunar or Martian bricks. This means, the researchers said, it could become a key component in building the first semi-permanent bases on the moon, Mars or beyond.
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