> Per the paper, testing the ability of the yeast-gelatin building foam to retain the pressure necessary to keep humans from succumbing to the Martian elements was outside the scope of the research.
> “A practical lunar or Martian habitat must integrate pressure retention, gas tightness, mechanical support, thermal regulation, radiation shielding, dust protection, repairability, and resource recycling,” the paper notes. “These requirements will likely require hybrid architectures” that include both the yeast foam and more traditional structures.
So no. They could very well need 99% "traditional" structures. All they did was find a way to make a semi-biological expanding foam. And that's cool. But it seems to be using Mars as a marketing crutch
> According to the paper, the material can be broken down and reused too - provided at least a single yeast cell survives the process, and the cold, barren wasteland of Mars, that is.
Is radiation a non-factor here given the simplicity of the organism?
This is exciting! And even if the result isn’t suitable as the only building material, there’s surely composite applications or buildings without a need to hold atmospheric pressure.
> Per the paper, testing the ability of the yeast-gelatin building foam to retain the pressure necessary to keep humans from succumbing to the Martian elements was outside the scope of the research.
> “A practical lunar or Martian habitat must integrate pressure retention, gas tightness, mechanical support, thermal regulation, radiation shielding, dust protection, repairability, and resource recycling,” the paper notes. “These requirements will likely require hybrid architectures” that include both the yeast foam and more traditional structures.
So no. They could very well need 99% "traditional" structures. All they did was find a way to make a semi-biological expanding foam. And that's cool. But it seems to be using Mars as a marketing crutch
It's getting harder and harder to tell these days when El Reg is being serious. I think this is a case when that is so, but I'm not sure...
> According to the paper, the material can be broken down and reused too - provided at least a single yeast cell survives the process, and the cold, barren wasteland of Mars, that is.
Is radiation a non-factor here given the simplicity of the organism?
This is exciting! And even if the result isn’t suitable as the only building material, there’s surely composite applications or buildings without a need to hold atmospheric pressure.