Taking concrete mixers loaded with cement into space It is not something viable. Therefore, science has long been looking for ways to obtain construction materials from lunar regolith. When they are manufactured the first buildings on the Moonthe cement would not have to be brought from Earth, because it would be prepared on site. However, just because something is manufactured in space, with materials from space, does not mean that it will resist space conditions well, no matter how paradoxical it may be. For this reason, a team of scientists from the University of Delaware recently sent some samples of their lunar cement to the International Space Station (ISS). Six months later, they have returned them to Earth for analysis. What they have seen is very interesting.
Stronger than on Earth. The lunar cement samples were placed on the outside of the ISS for six months. After, they were returned to our planet to see how cosmic radiation, vacuum or microgravity had affected them, among other factors. At the same time, other samples similar to those were kept on Earth, in order to verify the differences. When the space samples returned to our planet, it was observed that none had lost resistance. In fact, some had become more resistant after their space stay.
The ingredients of moon cement. Broadly speaking, conventional cement is obtained subjecting a mixture of limestone and some clay to very high temperatures. This represents an energy consumption that we cannot even consider when traveling to space. Therefore, the first thing these scientists from the University of Delaware did was look for ways to obtain a cement-like material that did not require that extreme heating. They tried the development of geopolymers, which are materials obtained from clays through chemical reactions.
In this case, simulated lunar and Martian regolith was used, which was mixed with a minimal amount of additives. These polymerized to give rise to a material that, when solidified, resembles the concrete we use here on Earth.
Not all regoliths are the same. moon dustknown as regolith, is made up of different rock materials. They are not all the same. For this reason, these scientists started with an AI algorithm that predicts the resistance of the final result, depending on the type of regolith that was used as a starting point. This is very useful, as it allows you to select the best options to obtain a strong lunar cement. The results of this other step are published in a different study to the one used to show the results of the spatial exposure.
A critical point not so critical. On the other hand, these scientists have identified a key point in the reaction to obtain lunar cement, known as the critical point of the gel, in which the material goes from a functional suspension to a solidifying structure. However, they found that mixing before that point did not affect how long the material took to harden or its final strength. Therefore, there is quite a bit of flexibility in the development of these materials. Taking into account that they want to do it in a place that is not too inhospitable, the less restricted the reaction is, the better.
Image | Magnificent
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