The European Space Agency recently found human urine as a useful ingredient in making concrete on Moon.
Strange isn’t it??
In a recent study, the researchers had found that urea, the main compound in urine would make a mixture for lunar concrete. It can be used along with the main ingredient in lunar concrete which is a powdery soil found on Moon’s surface known as ‘lunar regolith’.
The resulting material we get after mixing urea and lunar regolith is a geopolymer which is similar to concrete and can be used to build landing pads habitats and other structures on the Moon. Most of the infrastructures in the Moon is most likely to be built by using 3D printers. But the downside is that, it requires a lot of water so that they’ll flow out through the nozzle of a 3D printer. This is where the urea present in human urine plays its role. It reduces the amount of water required to produce a geopolymer.
“The science community is particularly impressed by the high strength of this new recipe compared to other materials, but also attracted by the fact that we could use what’s already on the Moon”
Says, Marlies Arnhof, initiator and co-author of the study from ESA’s Advanced Concepts Team
Urea can break hydrogen bonds and reduce the viscosities of fluid mixtures. It’s unimaginable that the 1.5 Litres of urine produced by human per day can be used to make many important structures in Moon. This incredible invention going to make a huge impact in future Moon Explorations.
The hope is that astronaut urine could be essentially used as it is on a future lunar base with minor adjustments to water content. This avoids further complications that will have to be done to the sophisticated water recycling systems in space.
-Sraddha
Reference: ESA
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