2023-07-24 09:01:38
Scientists at the University of Manchester have created a concrete called StarCrete, made from potato starch, in what they consider the ideal solution for transporting heavy materials to the Red Planet. Potatoes are not the only ingredient that researchers used to build “concrete”, but they added blood, spit and tears to it. How is concrete designed? Starch works as glue, and one 25-kilogram bag of dried potatoes can make approximately 213 bricks, knowing that the average house needs 7,500 bricks. “We were developing synthetic spider silk as a glue and binder, but serendipitously found that a protein in the blood works better,” said lead researcher Aled Roberts. He added, “Sputum contains an active enzyme called amylase, which is able to break down starch into shorter chains and thus turn it into a better glue.” Starch seems to be the answer, with evidence found of sticky rice starch glue being used in the construction of the Great Wall of China, so why not use it in space bricks? “Since we’ll be producing starch as food for the astronauts either way, StarCrete won’t need any additional technology or equipment. This simplifies the mission and makes it cheaper and more feasible,” Roberts said. The importance of the discovery to the environment The impact of this study is not limited to Mars only, as researchers believe that these stones will be alternatives to cement concrete on Earth. “Concrete production leads to a whopping 8 percent carbon dioxide emissions, so we need to develop green and sustainable alternatives,” Roberts said. He added: It may take some time before we reach the “potato houses” on Mars, but thanks to the University of Manchester team, the possibility is not as strange as it seems. He continued, “I even laughed when I started to spit in my experiments, but I think the final material was really strong.”
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