Maybe you go out for an early morning jog and find that your neighbor across the street is renovating his house, and the cement from the mixer makes it stronger. In fact, the same is true in space. In 2024, we will go to the moon and plan to settle there. How to build an indestructible base on the moon is particularly important. Because it needs the ability to block all kinds of cosmic rays, radiation and asteroid impacts. Reinforced concrete is an indispensable raw material in the construction of the base. How about the solidification effect of cement on the moon, and can it be used as well as on the earth?
Astronauts conduct microgravity cement experiments < br/>
NASA recently conducted a series of advanced experiments on the International Space Station to confirm the bonding effect and strength index of cement under different gravity environments. And the effects of cosmic rays on cement. Strength is the key to durability, which tells us how long we can build a house on an alien planet, and the ability to protect against cosmic rays will determine the level of radiation protection inside the future base.
Seemingly common cement, in fact, the internal structure is much more complex than we think. Concrete is a mixture of sand, gravel, and rock, held together by dry cement powder and water, but its internal structure is not as simple as it looks. When the gravity environment changes, the settlement rate of concrete will change, and the effect of cement crystallization may be different. Scientists still do not understand the internal changes.
Astronaut Alexander prepares to add water to cement < br/>
During the experiment on the space station, the astronauts prepared some plastic bags containing dry cement powder and added water to them. And alcohol is added to different bags at different times to stop the hydration process at the designated time. In order to simulate different planetary environments, astronauts used centrifuges to simulate the gravity of the moon and Mars at different speeds, so that the cement experiment could achieve the desired state. These experimental samples will return to Earth with the next cargo spacecraft, and scientists will analyze the solidified cement samples.
Eventually, scientists will give the most stable hydration ratio on the moon to support the next step of the lunar base construction plan. There are lunar rocks on the moon that can be mined and used, ice under the impact crater can also provide water, and cement powder needs to be transported from the earth, not surprisingly, there will be some steel bars transported to the moon with cement. The moon base will be built in a ready-made place similar to a cave, which will reduce the amount of work and the difficulty of construction as much as possible.
Astronaut Selina uses a centrifuge to simulate the moon zh & # 39; L < br/>
Since human beings have not really stepped out of the low earth orbit and the lunar orbital station has not been built, if we want to build infrastructure on the moon, I am afraid it will not happen in 10 years. But human beings will eventually go out of the earth, and it will be a wise decision to improve the mature technology on the earth and move it into space before new materials are found at the destination.
浙公网安备33010802003254号