WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- Scientists at the University of Central Florida (UCF) in the United States are selling their simulated Martian soil to the public.
"The simulant is useful for research as we look to go to Mars," said Dan Britt, a member of UCF's Planetary Sciences Group. "If we are going to go, we'll need food, water and other essentials. As we are developing solutions, we need a way to test how these ideas will fare."
With the chemical signature of soils collected by NASA's Curiosity rover, the UCF team has successfully simulated some experimental Martian soil. Researchers also published a recipe for those who don't want to pay 20 U.S. dollars to buy the dirt.
"With this technique, we can produce many variations," said Kevin Cannon, a post-doctoral researcher at UCF. "Most of the minerals we need are found on Earth although some are very difficult to obtain."
The team has already received about 30 orders for the Martian soil, including one from the Kennedy Space Center for half a ton.
