Space Africa, which one day dreamed of colonizing Mars, should shine with the totality of the planet’s limited natural resources, especially when it comes to building materials. A team of technology and design scientists from the University of Singapore discovered that, using simple chemistry, organic polymer chitin contained in exoskeleton of insects and crustaceans could easily be transformed into a practical building material for basic equipment and dwellings. This will require minimal energy consumption and no need to transport special devices. The scientists described their experiments in a paper published in the recent journal Plow One.
Co-author Javier Fernandez said the technology was originally developed to create a circular ecosystem in an urban environment. “But because of its efficiency, it is also the most efficient and scalable method of producing material in closed artificial ecosystems in the extremely rare atmosphere of an inanimate planet or satellite.”
As we reported earlier, NASA has announced an ambitious plan to send American astronauts back to the moon and establish a permanent base there, with a view to finally placing astronauts on Mars. Materials science will be crucial to the success of the Artemis Moon program, especially when it comes to the materials needed to build a practical lunar (or Martian) base. For example, concrete requires a significant amount of added water to be useful In the original position, And there is a clear short supply of water on both the moon and Mars. And transportation costs will be restricted. NASA estimates that it costs about 10,000 10,000 to transport just one pound of material into orbit.
So much attention has been paid to the possibility of using existing materials on the moon itself to create a lunar base. Past proposals have called for 3D-printing with sorrel cement, requiring significant amounts of chemicals and water (consumables) and a rock-like material that requires both water and phosphoric acid as a liquid binder. And back in March, a paper by an international team of scientists suggested that astronauts setting up a base on the moon could use urea in their urine as a plasticizer to make concrete-like building materials from lunar clay.
Like the moon, any plan to establish a habitable base on Mars must use production techniques that use the red planet rule. But the authors of the current paper point out that most terrestrial production strategies that will fit the bill require a large amount of special equipment and fur. Nevertheless, “nature represents a successful strategy of adapting to a harsh environment,” the authors wrote. “In biological organisms, solid compositions are formed by integrating inorganic fillers advancing from the environment at low energy energy costs (e.g., calcium carbonate) and incorporating organic metrics (e.g., chitin) produced at relatively low metabolic costs.”
N. Shiwei, S. Dritus, J.G. Fernandez / Plus One
Fernandez and his colleagues say chitin is likely to be part of any planned artificial ecosystem because it is so abundant in nature. It is the primary component of fish scales and fungal cell walls, for example, as well as the exoskeleton of crustaceans and insects. In fact, insects have already been targeted as a major source of protein for potential martin bases. And since the chitin component of insects has limited nutritional value to humans, there is “no barrier or competition with the food supply” from building it into building materials, the authors wrote. “Lata’s, it’s a by-product.”
For their experiments, the researchers relied on fairly simple chemistry. They took the chitosan obtained from the shrimp, dissolved it in acetic acid – a common product of both aerobic and anaerobic fermentation. They tested its properties by extracting various properties from it, especially the functional wrench, which they tested by tightening hexagonal bolts. While acknowledging that it would not be possible to replace metal devices for specific complex space applications, it was difficult enough to maintain enough torque for small daily tasks.
Think big
Next, the team attempted to infuse materials in various geometries to study its potential as a building material through additive manufacturing, ranging from cylinders and cubes to both spherical and angular shaped objects, including the humanoid Martian figure. Scientists have also shown that biolith can be used as a temporary mortar to effectively fill a small hole in a pipe. The pipe then went off in a few weeks without leakage. In the end, they created a full 3D printed model of a potential design for Martin’s residence; It only took two hours to complete. The researchers concluded that their results showed the possibility of such “closed-loop, zero-waste” solutions on Mars.
“Bioinspired manufacturing and sustainable materials are not a substitute for synthetic polymers, but a competent technology that defines a new model in manufacturing, and allows to do things unattainable by synthetic counterparts,” Fernandez said. “We have shown that it is not only for our sustainability on earth but also one of humanity’s next greatest achievements: our transformation into an international race.”
DOI: Plaza One, 2020. 10.1371 / journal.pon.0238606 (about DOI).
