The Martian Concrete Company
I was looking at the the composition for Portland Cement and discovered this about Mars soil composition. It has nearly 90% the same elemental composition of Portand Cement.
Portland Cement Composition:
Calcium oxide (CaO)
Silicon oxide (SiO2)
Aluminum oxide (Al2O3)
Ferric oxide (Fe2O3)
Sulfur oxide (SO3)
Composition of Martian Soil
Calcium oxide
Silicon oxide
Aluminum oxide
Ferric oxide (FeO) ***
Sulfur oxide
*** Ferric oxide (FeO) is the only composition of Martian dust that is not the same composition of Portland cement here on Earth.
If water was added to the surface of Mars it would most likely harden into the Martian version of concrete.
With the prevelance of the key components needed to make concrete on Mars already present then factories would not to be built to develop concrete. The soil could be be bagged up and then used to make Martian concrete blocks that would then be placed around habitat modules or could in fact be used to create cost effective habitats similar to ones made of concrete on Earth that oxygen could then be released into to provide living quarters.
The use of Martian concrete would also help build large greenhouses that would be used to grow crops in as well.
Martian Soil Composition - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marti...72-MarsCuriosityRover-RoverSoils-20121203.jpg
Portland Cement Composition - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_cement
I was looking at the the composition for Portland Cement and discovered this about Mars soil composition. It has nearly 90% the same elemental composition of Portand Cement.
Portland Cement Composition:
Calcium oxide (CaO)
Silicon oxide (SiO2)
Aluminum oxide (Al2O3)
Ferric oxide (Fe2O3)
Sulfur oxide (SO3)
Composition of Martian Soil
Calcium oxide
Silicon oxide
Aluminum oxide
Ferric oxide (FeO) ***
Sulfur oxide
*** Ferric oxide (FeO) is the only composition of Martian dust that is not the same composition of Portland cement here on Earth.
If water was added to the surface of Mars it would most likely harden into the Martian version of concrete.
With the prevelance of the key components needed to make concrete on Mars already present then factories would not to be built to develop concrete. The soil could be be bagged up and then used to make Martian concrete blocks that would then be placed around habitat modules or could in fact be used to create cost effective habitats similar to ones made of concrete on Earth that oxygen could then be released into to provide living quarters.
The use of Martian concrete would also help build large greenhouses that would be used to grow crops in as well.
Martian Soil Composition - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marti...72-MarsCuriosityRover-RoverSoils-20121203.jpg
Portland Cement Composition - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_cement