Shulou(Shulou.com)12/24 Report--

This article comes from the official account of Wechat: SF Chinese (ID:kexuejiaodian), author: SF

We need enough oxygen to settle on Mars. However, it is difficult to create an environment for human beings and many life on Earth to breathe freely on Mars alone. Recently, scientists at the University of Science and Technology of China have used artificial intelligence tools to synthesize catalysts for oxygen production using Martian meteorites as raw materials. So, are we one step closer to emigrating to Mars?

If the earth is too crowded, will you consider emigrating to Mars? In many science fiction novels or science fiction movies, there are scenes of human migration to outer space. As our neighbor, Mars is an Earth-like planet that scientists have studied more. Our plan to emigrate to Mars is full of romantic imagination, but in fact we also know that Mars is not suitable for human survival, and it is not cost-effective to use rockets to transport supplies to Mars.

However, perhaps there is a hidden solution to these difficulties-a large amount of materials and equipment are needed to create a suitable environment for human survival on Mars, and if it is not worthwhile to transport materials and equipment from Earth to Mars, then, after giving Mars the necessary materials and equipment, independent production can be achieved on Mars. Recently, scientists from the University of Science and Technology of China have achieved their own oxygen production on Mars.

Recently, in an article published in Natural Synthesis (Nature Synthesis), the team of professors Luo Yi, Jiang Jun, Shang Weiwei of the University of Science and Technology of China and researcher Zhang Zhe of the Deep Space Exploration Laboratory introduced an intelligent robot ("Xiaolai", an artificial intelligence chemist), which can chemically pretreat Martian ores (from Martian or confirmed meteorites on Mars). Then the metal content of Martian ore was determined by laser induced breakdown spectrometer (LIBS), then the required metal components were extracted by chemical reagent, and finally the required catalyst was made, and the catalyst was used to produce oxygen.

The composition of the ore is complex, and the oxygen production process may also be unstable. Therefore, scientists have trained "Xiaolai" (such as machine learning, Bayesian optimization algorithm, etc.) and asked "Xiaolai" to build a prediction model, which can be under complex conditions. simulate the best catalyst formula and reaction conditions for oxygen production.

In this oxygen workshop, human scientists provide basic equipment and materials, and a lot of work can be carried out smoothly depends on the artificial intelligence chemist. There are 3764376 ways to make catalysts using Martian ore as raw materials. if it takes five hours to verify each method, it will take human scientists 2, 000 years to find an optimization, while Xiaolai completed the task in two months.

At 23 ℃, in the solution of 1mol / L sodium hydroxide, the average rate of oxygen production by the catalyst made by AI chemist is that 59.08 g oxygen can be produced in 1 square meter of catalyst material per hour. In other words, if the ceiling of a 100-square-meter, 3-meter-high Mars base is covered with this catalyst, after about 15.2 hours, the oxygen in the base will be able to meet the needs of human survival.

The production of oxygen on Mars not only creates a livable environment for Mars, but also makes it possible for spacecraft to travel to and from Mars and Earth. Because rocket propellant also needs a lot of oxygen, it is very important to create conditions for take-off on Mars if a spacecraft bound for Mars can return.

The development of Mars exploration takes into account the low temperature on the Martian surface (the temperature is lower than 0 ℃ most of the time) and the high content of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Scientists use solar energy and a solution similar to the Martian environment (2.8mol / L magnesium perchlorate salt solution at-37 ℃) to simulate the oxygen production process. This simulation process can be of practical significance, thanks to the recent discovery of evidence of water activity on Mars.

Recently, according to the data sent back by the Mars probe, scientists have found many traces of water, such as riverbeds, coastlines and numerous river deltas. These discoveries have revived many people's desire to emigrate to Mars.

In 1960, the Mars 1A probe launched by the Soviet Union was the beginning of human exploration of Mars. In 1964, the Mariner 4 Mars probe launched by the United States was the first probe in history to reach Mars successfully. Subsequently, the United States, the Soviet Union, Europe, Japan and other countries launched dozens of Mars probes one after another. In 2020, the Tianmen-1 probe was successfully launched, and China also began a journey to explore Mars. In 2021, China's Zhurong rover successfully landed on Mars.

In addition to launching probe satellites or rovers to Mars, countries are also considering manned Mars exploration plans. China plans to launch manned probes to Mars in 2033, 2035, 2037, 2041 and 2043 respectively. NASA also plans to achieve a human landing on Mars in 2033, and has carried out tests and experiments on human health and behavior, the development of life support systems, 3D printing in space, the simulation of life on Mars, and the development of a powerful carrier rocket "space launch system".

Mars exploration is still a long way from the expectation of large-scale human migration to Mars, and an important challenge in this process is the question of cost. However, in recent years, we have also seen a sharp decline in space costs with the innovation of space technology, such as the increasingly frequent use of recoverable rockets in the space field. While various Mars exploration programs are progressing step by step, emigration to Mars is expected to appear in the foreseeable future.

In addition to making oxygen on Mars, scientists have also tried to use Mars' own resources for other production activities.

In 2021, scientists at the University of Manchester in England used astronauts' blood and urine as binders to produce a new type of concrete using Martian soil as raw materials. The compressive strength can reach 40 megapascals (the compressive strength of ordinary concrete is about 32 megapascals).

In 2023, the team published an article announcing that they had improved the "interstellar concrete" again. They switched to potato starch as the adhesive, while concrete made from Martian soil had a compressive strength of 72 MPA, and concrete made from moon dust even reached 91 MPA.

The concrete with potato starch as binder is stronger. At the same time, potatoes can also be used as food for astronauts, using potato starch as an adhesive is both convenient and convenient.

Although the living conditions of Mars are bad now, if we can overcome the difficulties in the process of space flight and settling down to Mars, perhaps Mars can become a way out for us before the earth's environment enters a desperate situation. In addition, if we can successfully land on Mars, we can explore the resources of Mars and study the possible evolution of life, then even if we do not emigrate to Mars on a large scale, Martian resources and theories on the evolution of life on Mars can also provide solutions or new ideas for solving the problem of life on Earth.

References:

Https://www.nature.com/articles/s44160-023-00424-1#Sec2

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