Towards the colonization of Mars by in-situ resource utilization: Slip cast ceramics from Martian soil simulant

Abstract

Here we demonstrate that by applying exclusively Martian resources a processing route involving suspensions of mineral particles called slurries or slips can be established for manufacturing ceramics on Mars. We developed water-based slurries without the use of additives that had a 51 wt. % solid load resembling commercial porcelain slurries in respect to the particle size distribution and rheological properties. These slurries were used to slip cast discs, rings and vases that were sintered at temperatures between 1000 and 1130 °C using different sintering schedules, the latter were set-up according the results of hot-stage microscopic characterization. The microstructure, porosity and the mechanical properties were characterized by SEM, X-ray computer tomography and Weibull analysis. Our wet processing of minerals yields ceramics with complex shapes that show similar mechanical properties to porcelain and could serve as a technology for future Mars colonization. The best quality parts with completely vitrificated matrix supporting a few idiomorphic crystals are obtained at 1130 °C with 10 h dwell time with volume and linear shrinkage as much as ~62% and ~17% and a characteristic compressive strength of 51 MPa.

The Potential for Lunar and Martian Regolith Simulants to Sustain Plant Growth: A Multidisciplinary Overview

“…To date, Lunar and Martian simulants have been primarily studied for applications other than agronomy (de Vera et al, 2004;Gertsch et al, 2008;Kölbl et al, 2017;Karl et al, 2018), although they have potential use as a substrate for crop growth (Mortley et al, 2000). Several strategies and treatments can be applied to ameliorate the nutrient deficiency of simulants and enhance their performance as plant growth substrates.…”

“…An efficient BLSS must be capable of purifying water, revitalizing the atmosphere, and producing food in a closed loop system (Menezes et al, 2015;Foing et al, 2018;Llorente et al, 2018). This can also be accomplished through in situ resource utilization (ISRU), which requires the use of native materials (Karl et al, 2018) and waste as primary resources (Menezes et al, 2015). Instead of relying on a closed loop, new materials found on site could be brought into the life support systems, thus making them sustainable and expandable.…”

“…Numerous studies have evaluated the feasibility of life on other planets. Some have conducted hydraulic and engineering tests to assess the practicality of building (Gertsch et al, 2008) and manufacturing (Chow et al, 2017;Karl et al, 2018), whereas others have experimented with microbial (Verseux et al, 2016;Kölbl et al, 2017) and plant growth (Gilrain et al, 1999;Kozyrovska et al, 2006;Wamelink et al, 2014) in an extraterrestrial environment. Space farming based on local resource exploitation (Maggi and Pallud, 2010;Ramírez et al, 2019) is a promising strategy for food production (Ming and Henninger, 1989) on extra-terrestrial habitats, as it can allow water recycling, organic waste composting, and oxygen production or CO 2 consumption (Verseux et al, 2016;Llorente et al, 2018).…”

Experimental Study on Geopolymerization of Lunar Soil Simulant under Dry Curing and Sealed Curing

“…According to NASA‘s report, the cost per kilogram of material sent to the moon‘s orbit is more than USD 20,000 [ 4 ]. How to use the moon‘s in situ resources to establish a lunar scientific research base has become a research hotspot in the scientific and engineering communities [ 5 , 6 ].…”

Low‐Temperature Sintering of Low‐Loss Millimeter‐Wave Dielectric Ceramics Based on Li‐Kosmochlor, LiCrSi2O6

“…As a result of their terrestrial abundance, silicates have formed the basis for many widely used structural ceramics and are even proposed toward use on other planets, e.g., Mars. [ 1 ] More recently, diverse silicate ceramics of controlled structure and composition are increasingly being studied in terms of their functional properties. Here, noteworthy advancements have taken place in the use of silicates for biomedical, [ 2 ] battery electrode, [ 3 ] or membrane applications.…”