Look: Future colonies on Mars could be built with human blood

Jennifer Walter Sep. 16, 2021 Blood Bricks When combined with other materials, it makes surprisingly strong bricks. Mark Stevenson/Collection Mix: Subjects/Getty Images

Shutterstock For all the glitzy depictions of future Mars civilizations, there’s one glaring problem: How do we even begin to build a city on Mars?

Shutterstock Transporting a single brick from Earth to Mars is estimated to cost as much as 2 million dollars . Imagine what it’d cost to build a research station — or just a modest space to sleep.

Future denizens on Mars could depend on making materials on the planet for their colonies to become sustainable and cost-effective.

But they likely won’t make the same bricks, stones, or concrete we build with on Earth. Shutterstock

Roberts A., et. al. / Materials Today Bio A team of researchers from the University of Manchester has an unorthodox solution: Creating a concrete-like material out of dust and human biomaterials .

Jay's photo/Moment/Getty Images “Human biomaterials” in this case means extracting proteins from human blood plasma, and compounds from urine , tears, and sweat.

Roberts A., et. al. / Materials Today Bio When mixed with Martian dust, the result is a surprisingly strong , earth-brown material that can be molded and even 3D printed into shapes. The recipe is outlined in a September 10 report in the journal Materials Today Bio.

For example, this 3D printed structure could sustain up to 60 kilograms of weight on Earth — 162 kg on Mars . Roberts A., et. al. / Materials Today Bio

Shutterstock Aled Roberts, the study’s lead author, tells Inverse that this technique doesn’t require any heavy equipment — freeing astronauts up to take other critical items on their journeys to Mars.

RUBEN BONILLA GONZALO/Moment/Getty Images But extracting biofluids like blood is no easy feat — you need a safe, controlled environment.

“The main potential sanitary issue I foresee is the risk of infections from removing blood from the body, taking the plasma, and putting the blood cells back in the body.” Aled Roberts KATERYNA KON/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Science Photo Library/Getty Images

Shutterstock But Roberts believes this technique will help grow human colonies on Mars by giving them a way to expand their habitat.

Shutterstock His team calculates that a single human on Mars could potentially make enough building material from their bodily waste to support another person after 6 years.

“This could then be repeated, potentially doubling the size of the colony every 72 months in a relatively efficient way.” Aled Roberts Corey Ford/Stocktrek Images/Stocktrek Images/Getty Images

Shutterstock So if you do make it to Mars one day, you might be expected to help construct buildings from your own blood, sweat, and tears — literally.

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