UCF sells Martian experimental land – $ 20 per kilogram, plus postage

This is not false news. A team of UCF astrophysicists has developed a standardized and scientifically based method for creating Martian and Asteroid soils known as simulants.

The team published its findings this month in the journal Icarus.

"The simulant is useful for research when we seek to go to Mars," said physics professor Dan Britt, a member of the UCF planetary science group. "If we are going to leave, we will need food, water, and other essentials." As we develop solutions, we need a way to test how these ideas will work. "

For example, scientists looking for ways to grow food on Mars, namely Martian film, need to test their techniques on soils that most closely resemble those of Mars.

"You would not want to discover that your method did not work when we are actually there," Britt said. "What would you do then? It takes years to get there."

The UCF formula is based on the chemical signature of the Mars soils collected by the Curiosity mobile. Britt built two calibration targets that were part of the Curiosity mobile. Researchers are currently using simulators that are not standardized, so any experiment can not be compared to another in the sense of apples to apples, said Britt.

As a geologist and physicist, he knows his problems well. Like a recipe, the ingredients can be mixed in different ways to mimic the soil from various objects, including asteroids and planets. And because the formula is based on scientific methods and is published for everyone, even those who do not place orders via UCF can create dirt that can be used for experiments, reducing the level of uncertainty.

Kevin Cannon, the journal's senior author and post-doctoral researcher who works with Britt at UCF, says there are different types of soil on Mars and on asteroids. On Earth, for example, we have black sand, white sand, clay and topsoil, to name a few. On other worlds, you could find carbon-rich soils, clay-rich soils and salt-rich soils, he added.

"With this technique, we can produce many variations," said Cannon. "Most of the minerals we need are on Earth, though some are very hard to obtain."

Cannon is in Montana to collect ingredients for a simulant moon this week. The materials of the moon and asteroids are rare and expensive on Earth because they arrived in small quantities via meteorites. This is why asteroid and moon simulants are also on the list of items that can be ordered. The UCF team can mimic most of the ingredients and will substitute for any potentially dangerous material. All simulators produced in the laboratory meet NASA safety standards.

Britt and Cannon believe that there is a market for the simulant. At $ 20 a kilo plus shipping, it may be easier to send an order to UCF than to try to do it in labs across the country.

The team already has around thirty pending orders, including one from the Kennedy Space Center for half a ton.

"I think we will see significant learning happen through access to this material," Britt said.

Cannon thinks this will help accelerate the exploration of our solar system, as evidenced by investments already made by Space X, Blue Origin and other private companies.

For Cody Schultz, an engineer in mechanical engineering, working on experimental soil was "very cool".

"For someone who has always loved space science, it's the pinnacle of cool," he said. "And the experience is fantastic in terms of the real world … experience out of the world."

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