Mission to Mars: Researchers develop 'Martian concrete'

Dive Brief:

Scientists at Northwestern University in Illinois have developed what they call "Martian concrete," which they say could be used to build structures, even an entire village, on the surface of Mars, according to Dezeen Magazine. The "concrete" formula is comprised of Martian soil and molten sulphur, a 50-50 mix that researchers say will be the most durable on the planet.
The team of Lin Wan, Roman Wendner and Gianluca Cusatis has also incorporated a feature — which many say is the most important for successfully building on Mars — that eliminates the need for water, as the majority of water on Mars is frozen.
The material is also recyclable, which would allow a structure to be melted down and used to create a new one. In addition, the "concrete" is resistant to acid, salt and very low temperatures.

Dive Insight:

NASA’s 2012 landing of the Curiosity rover on the red planet set off a wave of interest in Mars colonization, so the natural next step is to develop a way to build livable structures on the planet. NASA held a competition last year challenging entrants to create a method to build 3-D-printed housing for space exploration. Team Space Exploration Architecture and Clouds Architecture Office placed first in the NASA competition with their design, Mars Ice House.

According to Dezeen, the Northwestern scientists' proposal is the first one to turn Martian soil into a feasible building material.

It appears an increasing number of people, as well as companies, are trying to get a piece of the Mars dream. Elon Musk said he hopes to launch manned flights to Mars from his Space-X Boca Chica Beach, TX, site and participate in building a base on the planet one day. Musk said during the launch site grand opening that he plans 12 launches a year of satellites and government rockets starting this year.

And in 2014, NASA paid $500,000 to a space technology development company to design robots capable of building structures in space. NASA’s plan is for the robots to assemble 3-D printed components delivered by spacecraft. Perhaps researchers will even come up with a way to put a portable 3-D printer, like the Apis Cor, or a larger one like the WASP Big Delta, to 3-D print right on the planet’s surface.