Posted on 09/16/2020 7:00:49 PM PDT by BenLurkin
A simple manufacturing technology based on chitin, one of the most ubiquitous organic polymers on Earth, could be used to build tools and shelters on Mars, according to a study published September 16 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Javier Fernandez of Singapore University of Technology and Design, and colleagues.
With plans to revisit the lunar surface and eventually send a crewed mission to Mars, future space exploration missions are likely to involve an extended stay. For such missions, or perhaps even settlements, survival requires meeting basic human needs. One material that could be used to meet those needs is chitin, which is produced and metabolized by organisms across most biological kingdoms. Chitin is a primary component of cell walls in fungi, the exoskeletons of arthropods, such as crustaceans and insects, and the scales of fish and amphibians. Due to its ubiquity, chitin will likely be part of any artificial ecosystem.
Fernandez and colleagues used simple chemistry suitable for early Martian settlement to extract and manufacture a new material with minimal energy requirements and without specialized equipment. They made this material by combining chitosan with a mineral designed to mimic the properties of Martian soil. The authors then used the chitinous material to construct a wrench and a model of a Martian habitat...
(Excerpt) Read more at phys.org ...
Are you chitin me?
You mean like Chitlins?
Stump slung and crik washed chitlins?
Your chitin heart. Sounds like a good idea for a song.
Hmmm, college biology surfaces in my memory. Chitin is a substance in the exoskeletons of insects, crabs, and lobsters.
Chitlins?
Despite your writin’
Its pronounced “kye-tin”
CC
You want chitin in action? Here it is. Funny movie. Somewhat weird and r-rated at the beginning. Do not go see what happened to the building super. haha.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3018560/plotsummary?ref_=tt_ov_pl
“New York City. 2016. In the years since Hurricane Sandy, the city has been brought to its knees by a series of ‘Frankenstorms.’ As hurricane season hits yet again, New York braces itself for the oncoming wave of destruction. Roommates Margot and Daniel attempt to survive this ‘new’ New York by avoiding it at all costs. But with the advent of three strange deaths in their Brooklyn building, the world they’ve been hiding from is knocking hard on the back door. They soon discover that the salad days of getting drunk and watching horror movies are behind them, because they have a new roommate, and he’s got a real bug up his ass.”
"Eff you, Mars."
The whole time, Mars is trying to kill him.
Yes; it’s also in mollusk radulae (serves as both tongue and teeth), octopus/squid/cuttlefish beaks, even fish scales.
Until we can launch huge payloads to Mars at reasonable cost man has no business there. We do not have that technology today.
Our robotic missions to Mars have been an incredible success. If we send humans to Mars the vast majority of the payload will be to just keep them alive. Leave the humans home for now. With robotic missions 100% of the payload is for science.
Crabs, lobsters and insect protest!
*ping*
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