Researchers consider building houses on Mars with... human blood 🩸

Mars is no longer just a destination; it's also an architectural challenge. While Martian colonization remains a distant goal, researchers are exploring bold solutions for constructing habitats on this hostile planet. What if the secret lay within our own bodies?


Earth-based logistics pose a significant issue: transporting construction materials over the 140 million miles (225 million kilometers) separating us from Mars is financially prohibitive. Delivering a single brick would cost approximately two million dollars. This forces the search for local and innovative alternatives.

Martian regolith, a mineral dust omnipresent on the Red Planet, appears to be a promising resource. However, its fine and crumbly structure requires a binder to become a usable construction material.

This is where researchers from Kharazmi University in Iran propose an unusual idea: mixing this regolith with bodily fluids, particularly human blood. Inspired by ancient Roman practices, they envision a material called AstroCrete, characterized by significant strength.

In antiquity, masons added organic substances, such as animal blood, to enhance the durability of their mortar. Today, human serum albumin, a protein found in blood plasma, could play a similar role on Mars. When mixed with regolith, it forms a compressive concrete with a strength of 25 megapascals, comparable to conventional concrete.

The results don't stop there. Adding urine or sweat, both rich in urea, would further increase the material's strength by up to 300%. However, producing AstroCrete poses its own challenges: each astronaut could provide enough plasma in 72 weeks to build a single dwelling.

Other solutions, such as polymer-based or sulfur-based concrete, are among the options being explored, but AstroCrete stands out due to its local and reproducible nature. 3D printing could accelerate its use, and the addition of calcium carbonate present on Mars could offer alternatives for producing a durable mortar.

This approach highlights the potential sacrifices of early Martian colonists, who may literally have to put their bodies to work to build an extraterrestrial future. Researchers see this as a step toward self-sufficiency, essential for making colonization sustainable.

While this vision may seem surprising, it reflects the creative solutions necessary to address cosmic challenges. On Mars, blood would not only symbolize life in this concept but also serve as the cornerstone of futuristic habitats.