Space Bricks

Recently, researchers from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) developed a way to make bricks from Martian soil with the help of bacteria and urea.

  • These ‘space bricks’ can be used to construct building-like structures on Mars that could facilitate human settlement on the red planet.

Process

  • Slurry: The team first made the slurry by mixing Martian soil with guar gum, a bacterium called Sporosarcina pasteurii, urea and nickel chloride (NiCl2).
  • Role of Bacteria: This slurry can be poured into moulds of any desired shape, and over a few days the bacteria convert the ....
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