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We've been sending probes and rovers to Mars for years, but nosotros accept however to get a sample of the scarlet planet back to Earth. The best we tin can do is characterize the planet and transmit the results. If nosotros're going to plan for a long-term human presence on Mars, only agreement the Martian soil is vital. A project from the University of Central Florida's Planetary Sciences Group sought to create the best replica of Martian dirt still, and it's selling the material for $20 per kilogram.

At that place have been various artificial Mars soil recipes over the decades, which are known as "simulants." The almost well-known Mars simulant is JSC Mars-1, created by NASA's Johnson Space Center. Information technology was never produced at industrial scale, so several companies accept popped up to create their own versions of JSV Mars-ane. At that place's likewise Mojave Mars Simulant (MMS), but that textile is non bachelor exterior of NASA. A company called The Martian Garden claims to have two simulants for sale that use the same source recipe equally MMS, just they have used a base of red cinder cloth instead of the original Saddleback Basalt.

The goal of the University of Central Florida project to create an open standard for Mars simulant, which it calls Mars Global Simulant (or MGS-1). We know more near the surface of Mars now than nosotros did in the by, so it's a take a chance for scientists to incorporate all the proper chemical properties into a simulant.

While the old simulants were a skillful guess, they're missing some crucial elements of the real thing. We accept practiced evidence today that virtually of Mars' dust comes from the erosion of i large basalt formation called Medusae Fossae. Additionally, we know that Martian dust is a mix of a mixture of crystalline and amorphous phases when examined by x-ray. JSC Mars-1 is nearly x-ray amorphous, and MMS is almost entirely crystalline. We likewise know that Martian regolith has pregnant sulfur, which is missing from existing base of operations formulae.

The University of Central Florida squad started from the basic mineralogy of Mars using assay from the Curiosity rover of samples gathered in a location called Rocknest. The crystalline fraction of MGS-1 consists of minerals like olivine, magnetite, and anhydrite. Rocknest also probably contains amorphous materials like basaltic drinking glass, hydrated silica, and ferrihydrite. So, those are in MGS-1 besides.

Other teams can use the base MGS-i standards to make their ain simulant from powdered ingredients, and minor modifications can recreate different regional soil variations. However, the team recognizes information technology make be easier for researchers to simply buy the simulant. That's why the university is selling MGS-1 to other institutions for $20 per kilogram (yous can't buy it nevertheless). It already has almost 30 orders, including one from Kennedy Infinite Center for half a ton.

Now read: NASA develops model to predict global dust storms on Mars, Opportunity Rover Spotted From Mars Orbit, and NASA Says Terraforming Mars Is Currently Impossible