Press coverage: "Potato starch and Martian soil make ‘cosmic concrete’ for extra-terrestrial structures – just add astronaut tears"

Researchers at the University of Manchester have developed a new material called StarCrete, which could revolutionize construction in space. Made from potato starch and simulated Mars dust, StarCrete is twice as strong as ordinary concrete, with a compressive strength of 72 MPa, and even stronger when made from Moon dust. Unlike previous ideas that used astronaut blood or urine, StarCrete's starch binder is more practical and sustainable, as it can be produced alongside food for astronauts. The material is simpler, cheaper, and requires less energy to produce than traditional concrete, potentially offering a greener alternative on Earth. It also has promising applications in space, where magnesium chloride, a salt found in tears, further strengthens the material and can be sourced from the Martian surface.

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