It is hard to deny that we are moving into a future in which humanity will live on Mars. But to develop a sustainable presence, a huge number of technical problems must be solved. One of these problems concerns manufacturing and construction.
We can’t send everything humans need to Mars. We will need to learn how to do the most necessary things on the spot.
What is Chitin?
A new study shows that chitin can be used as a building material. Chitin is well known as the material that makes up the exoskeleton of arthropods, although it is also present in many other organisms and is a major component of the cell walls of fungi. A recent study suggests that chitin can be used to build buildings and tools.
The title of the new study is “Martian biolite: a regolith composite for closed – cycle production”. The lead author is Javier Fernandes from the Singapore University of technology and design.
Chitin is a common polymer commonly found on Earth. According to a press release announcing this new study, chitin is “produced and metabolized by organisms in most biological realms”. The fact that it is so widespread means that it is quite flexible in application. Because of its universality, chitin is likely to be part of any artificial ecosystem.
The idea behind the new study was to produce chitin using simple chemicals and minimal energy use. The first step was something like “reengineering” the chitin itself. By taking the chitinous shells of shrimps or other creatures and treating them with something alkaline, you get a so-called chitosan. Then chitosan can be combined with an analog of Martian soil. This new chitinous material is called biolite, and it is very useful.
Research with Chitin
For their research, the authors used this material to make a spanner, a tiny Martian, and a model of the Martian habitat.
According to the authors, chitin can be used to create tools, as well as rigid structures from available materials, using the minimum energy that humanity will need in order to one day colonize Mars.
This is all part of the understanding that on-site resource extraction and production is essential for space exploration. Because for a sustained human presence anywhere in the Solar system other than Earth, it is simply impossible to deliver everything we need on rockets.
In the new work, the researchers pointed out that ISRU objects (resources used locally) could already be on Mars by the time the settlers arrived. Among other things, biolite can be used to create rigid protective structures around inflatable habitats.
This technology was actually developed to solve problems here on Earth by creating circular systems in urban environments.
Many science fiction writers have often pointed to biomimicry as a potential solution to space problems. The idea is that nature has created well-adapted systems, materials, and structures over vast geological timescales. Chitin is an example of one of them.
Just as different life forms have used these systems to exploit other niches in the biosphere, humans can use them to do the same. And by adapting chitin for use on another planet, we can accelerate evolution.
Featured image : Wikimedia commons
