Exotic concrete is being developed to enable construction on Mars and beyond. The idea centers on using local materials to cut transport costs for bases on distant worlds. As missions to the Moon and Mars become more feasible, planners are looking for ways to leverage available resources to build durable habitats without importing vast amounts of material.
Researchers, including Ben Robinson and colleagues, explored a method called path Making exotic concrete from Martian dust. Their tests show that potato starch can function as a binder when mixed with imitation Martian dust, producing a concrete-like material. In trials, StarCrete achieved a compressive strength of 72 MPa, more than twice the strength of standard concrete tested at 32 MPa. A variant using Moon dust, StarCrete Moon, demonstrated even higher strength, with the ability to withstand about 91 MPa of pressure.
Calculations indicate that one 25 kg bag of dried potatoes provides enough starch to manufacture roughly half a metric ton of StarCrete, roughly equivalent to 213 bricks. By comparison, constructing a typical three-bedroom house requires around 7,500 bricks. The researchers also discovered that magnesium chloride, a salt that can be mined on the Martian surface, significantly boosts StarCrete’s strength. On Earth, such a compound would reduce moisture resistance, but on Mars the absence of rain eliminates this drawback.
Beyond the lab, the debate about future lunar and Martian bases continues. Plans for a United States–led moon base aimed for 2030 highlight the role of in-situ resource utilization in sustainable space construction. This approach emphasizes using locally sourced materials to reduce supply chains and enable longer, more affordable missions. [citation: University of Manchester]