date of publication:
September 07 2022 1:35 GMT
Update date: September 07 2022 3:40 GMT
Researchers from Washington State University have developed a way to make high-performance materials by 3D printing a mixture of Martian soil and titanium minerals.
The strong materials made from Martian soil can be used to make tools and parts for rockets on Mars.
The researchers tested different percentages of Martian dust in the mixture; Ranging from 5 to 100% of 3D-printed material.
While the 5% of Martian soil was strong and hard, the material made entirely of Mars soil was brittle and easily brittle.
But materials with a high percentage of Martian soil can be used to make covering materials and insulating equipment against rust and radiological hazard.
“We have to keep in mind the necessity of 3D printing if we want to send astronauts to Mars,” said study co-author Prof. Dr. Amit Bandupadhai.
He added: “We cannot build everything on Earth, and control all the needs of astronauts, as well as the impossibility of returning to Earth when something is forgotten.” According to the Eureka Alert website.
Sending materials into space requires high costs; For example, the cost of sending the US Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) one kilogram to Earth’s orbit, up to 54 thousand dollars.
3D printing in space and on Mars could save time and money, and help astronauts fix problems directly.
The researchers mixed Mars soil with titanium metals used in space research for its strength and high heat tolerance.
The team shined a high-energy laser on the mixture with the aim of raising its temperature to 2000 degrees Celsius, to get the mixture out on a moving platform that allows researchers to shape whatever they want of different sizes and shapes.
The researchers pointed out that their study, published in the scientific journal “Applied Ceramics Journal”, is the beginning of future research on better mixtures using other metals, and different techniques in 3D printing, to reach the employment of 3D printing in the manufacture of many more resistant things. Like the various parts of the building.