Cold sintering as a promising ISRU technique: A case study of Mars regolith simulant

Abstract

Mars regolith simulant (MGS-1) was densified for the first time via a cold sintering process (CSP) as a novel in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) concept. The technique comprises the utilization of NaOH solution as a liquid media during the densification of simulant powder with <100 μm particle size. In as short as 30 min, with the increase in the NaOH concentration (from 3 M to 10 M) and processing temperature (from 150 °C to 250 °C), the relative densities of the regolith compacts and the mechanical properties were enhanced. The artifacts produced with Mars regolith simulant powder at 250 °C using 10 M NaOH solution yielded a relative density of around 88% and compressive strength reaching ∼45 MPa.