Building on the moon and Mars? You’ll need extraterrestrial cement for that

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In order to perform sustained space exploration, there needs to be some infrastructure in space that hasn’t been built yet. This includes housing and rocket landing pads. When the need for cement arises in space, it can’t easily be purchased as it can on Earth. So scientists are trying to see if they can use clay-like topsoil materials that are found on the Moon or Mars as something similar to cement. One of the main features that materials used in space would need to have, is the ability to be durable to use on a launch pad.

Key Takeaways:

If we want to have sustained space travel and exploration, we need to build survival habitats on other planets.
To build these habitats, astronauts will need to learn to use local materials for construction.
Scientists have simulated cement made from Martian soil, which shows promise in testing so far.

“Researchers are exploring ways to use clay-like topsoil materials from the moon or Mars as the basis for extraterrestrial cement.”

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