Scientists create Martian dirt at $ 20 per kilo

At present, there is a physical way for a human to touch even a Martian earth grain. So, if humanity can not bring Mars to Earth, at least not yet, astrophysicists at the University of Central Florida have created their own Martian soil. They sell it for $ 20 per kilogram (2.2 pounds) plus shipping costs.

The UCF team has developed a standardized approach to recreating the soil of the red planet, with a recipe based on the chemical signatures collected by the Curiosity robot. The onboard chemistry lab of the Curiosity rover is one of its most crucial elements, both by analyzing the Martian soil and helping the rover to come out of a recent storm.

Dan Britt, a professor of physics at UCF, helped create two calibration targets on the mobile, which helps keep Curiosity's photos accurate. His new artificial soil project aims to help scientists on Earth gain a realistic understanding of the conditions on Mars. Known as the Global Mars Simulant-1 (MGS-1), it is sustainable recreation that can be created to infinity. With constant dirt, UCF hopes to standardize Mars' experiences around the world.

"The simulant is useful for research as we search for Mars," says Britt in a press release. "If we have to go, we will need food, water and other necessities. As we develop solutions, we need a way to test how these ideas will materialize. "

The standardization of the creation of dirt allows many possibilities of dirt. While Mars dirt is making headlines, the UCF process will allow teams to create dirt that duplicates what one might find on other planets or even asteroids. Earth varieties on Earth include black sand, white sand, clay and topsoil. Once other worlds are highlighted, the dirt options can include clay-rich soils, carbon-rich soils, and salt-rich soils.

"With this technique, we can produce many variations," says Kevin Cannon, lead author of the article describing the findings, published in the scientific journal. Icarus. "Most of the minerals we need are on Earth, although some are very hard to obtain."

MGS-1 has already intrigued the main players in the space. UCF claims to have about 30 standing orders, including one from the nearby Kennedy Space Center. NASA's Florida operations manager has ordered half a ton of MGS-1. Getting Martian land will be a process in the decades to come. For the Kennedy Space Center, the acquisition of the MGS-1 takes about 45 minutes, depending on the traffic.

Source: Mashable