Mars (dust) regolith to bricks: (was "Shiny parabolic or mirror use")

[SpaceNut]

I found it and while the perchlorates are there I wonder what they are bound to for elements.

[FOQ1]

Pass on developing the mirror further. If the work was already done in the 50;s no need to reinvent the wheel.

Instead, for the specific case of Mars and solar concentrated heat (and I started this research for Lunar in-situ) I propose Cold Sintering of the regolithic dust into construction bricks. Normal hot Sintering would require 1,250 degrees C. Hot! Cold Sintering can be done at 250C (max) using Mars regolith (source Google Gemini.) You will need a press and Sodium Hydroxide as a catalyst.

Now you don't want to transport your catalyst all the way from Earth, but it can be produced in-situ from the abundant perchlorates. You add water (from polar ice) to the perchlorates and apply the chlor-alkali process. The NaOH forms on the cathode. Useful byproducts are Chlorine gas (anode) and Hydrogen (super useful!) This might also be a first step in detoxifying that dust for use as plant growing media.

All these technologies are mechanically simple and low maintenance.

Not quite Terraforming but it would be rather useful to bind a couple billion tons of regolithic dust into Sintered bricks such that there are no longer blinding dust storms creating giant dunes over your habitat that have be dug out from. Could be a primary industry of the early colonists to mitigate dust and make bulk construction material. If not construction, just stack it over/around habitats as radiation shield.

[tahanson43206]

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