One of the primary problems that people who set out to colonize Mars will face is that of adequate building material. How are they going to construct homes, when they will have such severe restrictions on what they can carry with them from Earth.

Majority of the material they carry would be food, water and tools. So it would make sense to be able to build bricks from scratch on Mars. At least that’s what the researchers at the University of California – San Diego, want to do.

They have come up with a technique which uses pressure, similar to the kind generated by a blow of a hammer, to build a brick out of martian stimulant soil. This brick does not need to be baked like the traditional ones made back here on Earth.

To make the bricks without additives like polymers and without heating, two steps are necessary. First is to place the soil in a compact area and second was to create a pressure like dropping a 10-lb hammer from a height of one meter.

That is literally all it took to form the brick. Now the proposal to build solid habitats for human pioneers on Mars has become easier thanks to this science project.