Yeast helps with house construction on Mars
On Mars, it would be possible to print buildings without much energy. A special yeast plays an important role in this – as does a process we know from freeze-dried fruit.
There is no shortage of concepts for building structures on Mars and the Moon. Most of them are based on the same idea: melting Martian rock or lunar dust to create bricks or cement-like material – and that requires a lot of energy and complex technology. It could be simpler with a material developed by researchers at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. It consists of a mixture of sand, gelatin, and a special yeast. Water, which is additionally needed for the process, is intended to be extracted directly on Mars from ice present there. When stacked using 3D printing, this mixture becomes as solid as concrete. The research group presented their work in the journal Chem Circularity.
Yeast cells play a crucial role in this material mix. They are coated with highly adhesive proteins, including those that mussels use to stick to rocks. During printing, the gelatin binds all the components together and gives the yeast cells room to spread, while the sand provides support and structure.
However, for the printable material to become a stable structure, it requires the specific conditions on Mars. Here, it is extremely cold, with temperatures as low as minus 150 degrees Celsius, and there is almost a vacuum – ideal conditions for freeze-drying, similar to what we know from the strawberries in our muesli packs. Due to the cold, the water in the freshly printed material freezes immediately, and as a result of the near-vacuum, the ice then turns directly into vapor and escapes.
What remains is a lightweight, foam-like material with microscopic pores. Under Mars-like conditions, the research team printed material samples the size of a wine cork. The compressive strength of the resulting material is 10 to 12 megapascals, which is in the range of lightweight concrete. According to the team, this could be used to build one- to two-story buildings on Earth. On Mars, where there is only one-third of Earth's gravity, more floors would also be possible.
Source: Press image for Ning Liu et al.: Engineered living building material for low-energy construction on Mars. Chem Circularity, 2026
The group also has good news for anyone wanting to settle on Mars permanently. One could tear down old buildings and recover yeast cells from the debris. In a bioreactor, these could then multiply again and provide supplies for the construction of new buildings.
Nevertheless, one would have to fly to Mars quite a few times to build such structures. While the material itself would only require a continuous supply of gelatin – although the research team is also working on concepts that do not require this additive – a great deal of Earth-based equipment is also necessary. This includes, for example, bioreactors or robots that layer the material using 3D printing. The researchers assume that for this construction method as well, hundreds of tons of material would have to be transported the nearly 500 million kilometers to Mars.
Spektrum der Wissenschaft
We are partners of Spektrum der Wissenschaft and would like to make well-founded information more accessible to you. Follow Spektrum der Wissenschaft if you like the articles.
Experts from science and research report on the latest findings in their fields – competent, authentic and comprehensible.
From the latest iPhone to the return of 80s fashion. The editorial team will help you make sense of it all.
Show all
