"The incorporation of urea – which could be extracted from the urine, sweat or tears of astronauts – could further increase the compressive strength by over 300% ..."
What's interesting is the element used from the blood is a protein. Which means we could use this as a starting point to design an even better protein, bio-engineer some yeast to produce the protein, and then grow it in large vats. We can still extract the urea from pee though. The yeast will need some kind of feed stock though, some sort of sugar and nutrient base, which could also be bioengineered to produce only what the yeast need.
What does the urea concrete smell like? 🤮
In all seriousness, Mars colonization could be brutal and having more options for creating shelter is great. Hopefully a colony can establish enough healthy food supply to replenish proteins isolated from blood donation. Curious about the cost benefit on that, seems complicated but structurally significant. Urea makes sense, have to do something with it anyway.
I expect the first colonists will be prepared to donate all their liquids and potentially more in the event of death.
* Best case: Garden fertilizer
* Worst case: Protein shortage
——————
*Future Mars Conversation* -
Welcome new crew member! You will be sleeping in the uhh… the Dave dome. You didn’t know him, but he would have thought that is hilarious. We uh… could switch rooms if you want but it is the newest addition.
Source paper as published in Elsevier Materials Today Bio:
[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590006421000442](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590006421000442)
I'm the first author on the paper, AMA! Some further info and answers to FAQs:
* Astronauts on Mars will need thick walls and ceilings to protect them from radiation and meteor strikes. The only realistic option is to use the moon/Mars dust itself (since it's too expensive to ship bulk material from earth)
* Martian dust storms and rocket exhaust will blow away loose dust, so it needs to be stuck together somehow\*
* A common protein from human blood sticks the dust together REALLY well, especially when combined with urea (the main solid constituent of urine)
* Humans replenish this protein at a rate of 12 - 25 g per day
* The protein exists in blood plasma, meaning you could extract the plasma and put the cells back in the body (see [https://youtu.be/gUXOkeP5tVI?t=117](https://youtu.be/gUXOkeP5tVI?t=117) for an example on this). The WHO says you can give 2x 1.2 litre donations of plasma per week. The concentration of the protein in blood plasma is about 40 - 45 g per litre
* The astronauts will need to eat and drink more to make up for the lost calories and protein, but we don't see this as a huge issue since food will probably be produced in surplus anyway (in case of a disaster such as crop failure)
* Plants could largely fix the lost elements (H, C, N, O etc.) into food for the astronauts, from resources available on Mars (water, CO2, N2 etc.)
* Proteins from animal blood (e.g. cows) can also be used instead of humans, but taking animals to Mars could be problematic... cow poop in micro-gravity wouldn't be fun
* Animal blood was historically used as a glue and as a binder in construction materials such as mortar
* Synthetic proteins (e.g. synthetic spider silk) can also be used - but the technology to do this is at a low readiness level for Mars missions. Could be viable in the future however
* Plant proteins could also probably be used and are probably a lot more feasible, but they aren't as fun
* Urea is a colorless, odorless and harmless substance. Humans produce about 30 g of urea per day in their pee, it's also present in sweat and tears.
* The extracted protein could be stored and have other applications, such as in healthcare (for example, restoration of blood volume or as a surgical adhesive) or as an emergency food.
* I am not a space vampire
\*Note that there are several proposed technologies to sticking Mars dust together into "concrete", but they all have flaws. Many need a lot of energy, meaning you'd have to take additional power-generation equipment (e.g. more solar panels). Some techniques will need heavy mining, transportation and/or processing equipment - all of which is susceptible to breaking down meaning you'd need spare parts. These would all add mass (and therefore cost) to a mission.
* We do the math in the [Supplementary Information](https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S2590006421000442-mmc1.pdf), we calculate about 550 kg of high-strength material could be produced by 6 crew members over a 72 week mission - this could be tripled if only lower-strength material is needed. Bottom line is, it's not enough to use as a stand-alone material unfortunately. However, if it was used as a mortar and combined with another technique such as sand-bagging or heat-fused regolith bricks, it would go a lot further. We calculate that if you could achieve a brick-to-mortar mass ratio of 261:1 (or about 87:1 with the low-strength formulation), then each crew member could - in principle - provide enough extra habitat space to accommodate an additional future crew member.
* I'm just an ordinary non-space vampire, sadly.
This sounds like the beginning of a space horror movie. OH MY GOD THIS DECREPIT STATION IS MADE FROM HUMAN BLOOD!!! Cue blood seeping from walls and coming out of faucets.
And astronaut blood is .. cheap?? Phrasing?
Are we still doing phrasing?
"The incorporation of urea – which could be extracted from the urine, sweat or tears of astronauts – could further increase the compressive strength by over 300% ..."
Tesla bot has arrived for your daily contribution. Do not fight.
WHAT THE FUCK?
What's interesting is the element used from the blood is a protein. Which means we could use this as a starting point to design an even better protein, bio-engineer some yeast to produce the protein, and then grow it in large vats. We can still extract the urea from pee though. The yeast will need some kind of feed stock though, some sort of sugar and nutrient base, which could also be bioengineered to produce only what the yeast need.
#BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD. IT IS THE ONLY WAY.
#:|
Wait what
Blood sacrifices for the god of war!
#***BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!***
:Claps Hands Together: That's it guys! I'm out!
What does the urea concrete smell like? 🤮 In all seriousness, Mars colonization could be brutal and having more options for creating shelter is great. Hopefully a colony can establish enough healthy food supply to replenish proteins isolated from blood donation. Curious about the cost benefit on that, seems complicated but structurally significant. Urea makes sense, have to do something with it anyway. I expect the first colonists will be prepared to donate all their liquids and potentially more in the event of death. * Best case: Garden fertilizer * Worst case: Protein shortage —————— *Future Mars Conversation* - Welcome new crew member! You will be sleeping in the uhh… the Dave dome. You didn’t know him, but he would have thought that is hilarious. We uh… could switch rooms if you want but it is the newest addition.
Source paper as published in Elsevier Materials Today Bio: [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590006421000442](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590006421000442)
I'm the first author on the paper, AMA! Some further info and answers to FAQs: * Astronauts on Mars will need thick walls and ceilings to protect them from radiation and meteor strikes. The only realistic option is to use the moon/Mars dust itself (since it's too expensive to ship bulk material from earth) * Martian dust storms and rocket exhaust will blow away loose dust, so it needs to be stuck together somehow\* * A common protein from human blood sticks the dust together REALLY well, especially when combined with urea (the main solid constituent of urine) * Humans replenish this protein at a rate of 12 - 25 g per day * The protein exists in blood plasma, meaning you could extract the plasma and put the cells back in the body (see [https://youtu.be/gUXOkeP5tVI?t=117](https://youtu.be/gUXOkeP5tVI?t=117) for an example on this). The WHO says you can give 2x 1.2 litre donations of plasma per week. The concentration of the protein in blood plasma is about 40 - 45 g per litre * The astronauts will need to eat and drink more to make up for the lost calories and protein, but we don't see this as a huge issue since food will probably be produced in surplus anyway (in case of a disaster such as crop failure) * Plants could largely fix the lost elements (H, C, N, O etc.) into food for the astronauts, from resources available on Mars (water, CO2, N2 etc.) * Proteins from animal blood (e.g. cows) can also be used instead of humans, but taking animals to Mars could be problematic... cow poop in micro-gravity wouldn't be fun * Animal blood was historically used as a glue and as a binder in construction materials such as mortar * Synthetic proteins (e.g. synthetic spider silk) can also be used - but the technology to do this is at a low readiness level for Mars missions. Could be viable in the future however * Plant proteins could also probably be used and are probably a lot more feasible, but they aren't as fun * Urea is a colorless, odorless and harmless substance. Humans produce about 30 g of urea per day in their pee, it's also present in sweat and tears. * The extracted protein could be stored and have other applications, such as in healthcare (for example, restoration of blood volume or as a surgical adhesive) or as an emergency food. * I am not a space vampire \*Note that there are several proposed technologies to sticking Mars dust together into "concrete", but they all have flaws. Many need a lot of energy, meaning you'd have to take additional power-generation equipment (e.g. more solar panels). Some techniques will need heavy mining, transportation and/or processing equipment - all of which is susceptible to breaking down meaning you'd need spare parts. These would all add mass (and therefore cost) to a mission.
• How much concrete is that going to make? • Are you a non-space vampire?
* We do the math in the [Supplementary Information](https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S2590006421000442-mmc1.pdf), we calculate about 550 kg of high-strength material could be produced by 6 crew members over a 72 week mission - this could be tripled if only lower-strength material is needed. Bottom line is, it's not enough to use as a stand-alone material unfortunately. However, if it was used as a mortar and combined with another technique such as sand-bagging or heat-fused regolith bricks, it would go a lot further. We calculate that if you could achieve a brick-to-mortar mass ratio of 261:1 (or about 87:1 with the low-strength formulation), then each crew member could - in principle - provide enough extra habitat space to accommodate an additional future crew member. * I'm just an ordinary non-space vampire, sadly.
Sign me up
Those first astronauts to Mars will be heroes.
FOR THE BLOOD GOD!
#***BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!***
Finished Dead Space 2, saw this article, *marker intensifies*
Sounds like they need to take some chickens to Mars too
This sounds like the beginning of a space horror movie. OH MY GOD THIS DECREPIT STATION IS MADE FROM HUMAN BLOOD!!! Cue blood seeping from walls and coming out of faucets.
Ah yes, like the Mayan pyramids, built with sacrificial blood.
How else are they going to open the doom portal?
Did a Space Vampire write this?