Colonizing Mars? Take Insects With You – eat the bugs, build with their shells #mars #space

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Okay, I’m here. Now what?

Long-term human occupation of Mars requires habitats to hold in a livable environment and shield from radiation. But hauling anything to Mars is expensive, so don’t expect your ship to be filled with bags of Quikcrete.

Chitin is the fibrous “organic polymer found in the cell walls of fungi, scales of fish and amphibians, as well as in the exoskeleton of anthropods.” sciencetimes

Chitin also comes “from insects. Given their high protein content, insects could form part of the diet for a crewed Mars mission.” CNN

Javier Fernandez and his team from Singapore University of Technology and Design present an interesting idea of what to do with chitin in the open-access journal PLOS ONE (September 16)

Food production and life support systems
Form transparent objects similar to plastic
Combine with Martian soil and water to make a very light rock like concrete
Manufacture everything from buildings to tools using 3D printing and mold casting

[image error]Will it work? How about on the Moon while we’re at it? Shoot, I don’t know, but it’s great to see smart people tackling the problem. Until we colonize the Red Planet in real life, travel with me and the first settlers in science fiction. Buy Book 1 now and then read on through generations.