Regolith
Regolith is the layer of rocky or icy debris, sand, and dust made by meteoritic impact that forms the uppermost surface of planets, satellites and asteroids. It is a possible construction material in the form of bricks. Loose regolith may also be used as a radiation shield.
Landscapes with regolith formation have been found that look like they were shaped by the flow of water. Those formations were probably created by "gas-supported density flows". [1]
Mineral Composition
The below table gives estimates of mineral composition based on the soil sample measurements performed by two Mars probes. Only the 6 most abundant minerals are listed.
| SiO2 | Fe2O3 | Al2O3 | MgO | CaO | SO3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Viking | 46.3 | 19.4 | 7.7 | 6.4 | 6.2 | 7.9 |
| Pathfinder | 48.6 | 17.5 | 8.3 | 7.5 | 6.3 | 5.4 |
Open Issues
- How radioactive is regolith?
- What are the compositions of the regolith near possible settlement sites?
references
- ↑ How the landscape is formed to the shape of floods: THE COLLAPSE ORIGIN OF DENSITY FLOWS ON MARS
- ↑ Bell JF, McSween HY, Crisp JA, Morris RV, Murchie SL, Bridges NT,...Soderblom L. (2000). Journal of Geophysical Research, 105(E1), 1721-1755. https://doi.org/10.1029/1999JE001060
