Paving way for future on Mars

As the world prepares to celebrate the Moon landing, New Zealand research could pave the way for cities on Mars.

Engineers from the University of Canterbury are trying to figure out how concrete could be made just from materials found on the Moon and Mars.

Tests by the university’s natural resources engineering department have used volcanic rock from the Blackhead Quarry near Dunedin to recreate soil found on the Red Planet.

The Blackhead basalt is similar to stone found just below the surface of Mars, particularly that near the giant Martian volcano Olympus Mons.

The engineers grind the Dunedin rock into regolith – a lifeless soil, similar to surface material on the Moon and Mars – before mixing it with magnesium oxide and turning it into high-strength concrete.

The results indicate materials for buildings on Mars could be sourced entirely locally.

Senior lecturer Dr Matthew Hughes said although Mars was known as the Red Planet, it also had black, volcanic rock, similar to that found on Earth.

‘‘We know Mars has basaltic rock ... When you look at the Moon, the dark areas you see are this kind of stuff. Not exactly the same composition [as on Earth], but pretty close.’’

One of the key requirements of concrete made on Mars would be the ability to keep space colonists safe from solar radiation.

It would also have to withstand the pressures of being in a low-gravity, low-atmospheric environment and be sourced locally, as transporting materials from Earth would be too difficult.

Associate Professor Allan Scott said a key ingredient for making concrete was calcium carbonate, such as limestone, which was in short supply on other planets.

‘‘That’s why we have to look at alternative materials,’’ he said.