The University of Central Florida is selling Martian dirt, $20 a kilogram plus shipping.
This is not fake news. A team of UCF astrophysicists has developed a scientifically based, standardized method for creating Martian and asteroid soil known as simulants.
麻豆精品 S淭he simulant is useful for research as we look to go to Mars, 麻豆精品 S� says. 麻豆精品 S淚f we are going to go, we 麻豆精品 S檒l need food, water and other essentials. As we are developing solutions, we need a way to test how these ideas will fare. 麻豆精品 S�
For example, scientists looking for ways to grow food on Mars 麻豆精品 S� cue the 2015 film The Martian 麻豆精品 S� need to test their techniques on soil that most closely resembles the stuff on Mars.
麻豆精品 S淵ou wouldn 麻豆精品 S檛 want to discover that your method didn 麻豆精品 S檛 work when we are actually there, 麻豆精品 S� Britt says. 麻豆精品 S淲hat would you do then? It takes years to get there. 麻豆精品 S�
UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 formula is based on the chemical signature of the soils on Mars collected by the Curiosity rover. Britt built two calibration targets that were part of Curiosity rover.
Researchers currently use simulants that aren 麻豆精品 S檛 standardized, so any experiment can 麻豆精品 S檛 be compared to another in an apples-to-apples kind of way, Britt says.
As a geologist and a physicist, he knows his dirt. Like a recipe, the ingredients can be mixed in different ways to mimic soil from various objects, including asteroids and planets. And because the formula is based on scientific methods and is published for all to use, even those not ordering through UCF can create dirt that can be used for experiments, which reduces the uncertainty level.
Kevin Cannon, the paper 麻豆精品 S檚 lead author and a post-doctoral researcher who works with Britt at UCF, says there are different types of soil on Mars and on asteroids. On Earth, for example, we have black sand, white sand, clay and topsoil to name a few. On other worlds, you might find carbon-rich soils, clay-rich soils and salt-rich soils, he added.
麻豆精品 S淲ith this technique, we can produce many variations, 麻豆精品 S� Cannon says. 麻豆精品 S淢ost of the minerals we need are found on Earth although some are very difficult to obtain. 麻豆精品 S�
Cannon is in Montana to collect ingredients for a moon simulant this week. Moon and asteroid materials are rare and expensive on Earth since they arrived via meteorites in small amounts. That 麻豆精品 S檚 why asteroid and moon simulants are also on the list of items that can be ordered. The UCF team can mimic most ingredients and will substitute for any potentially harmful materials. All simulants produced in the lab meet NASA 麻豆精品 S檚 safety standards.
. At $20 a kilogram, plus shipping, it may be easier to send UCF an order, than to try and make it in labs across the nation.
The team already has about 30 pending orders, including one from Kennedy Space Center for half a ton.
麻豆精品 S淚 expect we will see significant learning happening from access to this material, 麻豆精品 S� Britt says.
Cannon believes it will help accelerate the drive to explore our solar system as demonstrated by investments already being made by Space X, Blue Origin and other private companies.
For Cody Schultz, a mechanical engineering senior, getting to work on the experimental soil has been 麻豆精品 S渧ery cool. 麻豆精品 S�
麻豆精品 S淔or someone who has always loved space science, this is the ultimate cool, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淎nd the experience is fantastic in terms of the real world 麻豆精品 S� out-of-this-world experience. 麻豆精品 S�
