Scientists from the University of Manchester have developed a new building material called StarCrete. Thanks to potato starch and a pinch of salt, it could allow the construction of extraterrestrial habitation.
After the mushroom, the potato is the latest food being considered for building the homes of the future.
The discovery comes after American architecture firm Red House announced it is collaborating with NASA and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to build space dwellings from mushrooms and dehydrated algae.
In order to ensure a permanent human presence on the Moon and Mars, one must figure out how to build robust and durable habitats that provide protection from radiation. In addition, high-strength materials must be found from local resources, which should ideally be produced using relatively simple and low-energy processes.
In their experiments, the scientists used ordinary starch with a pinch of salt — magnesium chloride found on the surface of Mars or in astronauts’ tears — to create “a very resilient” starch they called StarCrete.
In an article published in the journal Open Engineering, the scientists explain that the results obtained have made it possible to create a material twice as strong as ordinary concrete and “perfectly suited” for construction work in extraterrestrial environments.
“After optimization, Lunar and Martian StarCrete achieved compressive strengths on the order of concrete and outperformed most other technology solutions, despite being a relatively energy-efficient process,” say the study’s authors.
Why is potato starch so special?
“Basically, potato starch makes a better glue than other starches,” said lead researcher Dr. Aled Roberts to Euronews Next.
It is also not necessary to have water to use it.
“_The benefit of using potato starch is that we know we’re going to be producing some form of starch anyway to feed the astronauts, so we can produce more of it and use it in the build. ‘ explains Mr Roberts.
And if scientists can’t grow potatoes or other foods sustainably in extraterrestrial environments, “we can just take significant amounts of potato starch and use it as a binder.” The upside is that astronauts can eat it, too, in an emergency.
The team calculated that one sack (25kg) of dried potatoes (chips) contains enough starch to make nearly half a tonne of StarCrete, the equivalent of more than 213 bricks of material.
Is the potato really a tangible idea for building alien habitation?
“There are good chances … but there is still a long way to go before we start building habitats on the Moon and Mars,” Roberts said. “By then we will probably have made many more discoveries. Someone will come up with a better idea and innovate. And that’s how things always go, always.”
Mr. Roberts’ start-up, DeakinBio, will continue to research other plant binders to build homes on Mars and the Moon, as well as “exploring other crazy ideas to see what comes up.” But right now, she’s also exploring how to apply her technology on Earth to create clean, sustainable alternatives to concrete and ceramic tile.