Figure 2
From: Direct Formation of Structural Components Using a Martian Soil Simulant
(A) SEM image of a solid Mars-1a fracture surface. The inset displays a TEM image of several basaltic grains bonded together; fuzzy and diffuse areas on the exterior of each particle are indicative of npOx, and the contact suggests npOx binding. The material had the initial particle size of 25–45 μm, and was compressed under 360 MPa quasi-statically with flexible boundary condition; the compression pressure was oriented horizontally in the SEM image. (B) Typical XRD curves of reference Mars-1a and solid Mars-1a compressed to 360 MPa with flexible boundary condition. Asterisks indicate the two main peaks of the bottom curve.
