Believe It Or Not, Dirt From Mars Can Be Bought With Only $20 A Kilogram

A few years ago, a mission that requiring travel to the Red Planet sent space agencies NASA and ESA to source for Martian soil. Now, it is likely that the precious dirt may actually be available right here on Earth.

Martian dirt has been announced with the price of $20 a kilogram plus shipping by The University of Central Florida (UCF). And this is a serious announcement, not a joke at all.

Indeed, simulants, a standardized method for creating Martian and asteroid soil, has been created by a team of UCF astrophysicists. Professor Dan Britt, a member of UCF's Planetary Sciences Group, answering a UCF statement Physics, said that: 

The extraterrestrial soil is sure to attract all space enthusiasts, however, its purpose is mainly for the experiments of future techniques which are potentially used by explorers who may reach the planet some day. Britt also said that:

Mars Curiosity rover signatures are the base
This new UCF dirt is very close to the real Martian deal. The chemical signature of the Mars' soils collected by the Curiosity rover is actually the base of the formula.

A standardized scientifically-founded base will also be provided by the new substance for researchers to accurately compare experiments. The formula will also be published online for everyone to get access and use to encourage such precise work.

The different types of soil found on Mars are also similar to this formula, as Kevin Cannon, the paper's lead author, and a post-doctoral researcher who works with Britt at UCF said:

Therefore, asteroid and moon simulants, which are rarer and harder to find, can be featured on the list of orderable items by UCF.

Most importantly, most ingredients can be imitated and any potentially harmful materials can be substituted to ensure that all their simulants can satisfy NASA's stringent safety standards.

The Martian soil has already had 30 pending orders, including the Kennedy Space Center ‘s half a ton purchase order.

However, for people like Britt and Canon, the most interesting feature of its ability to help accelerate the current wish to explore, analyze and perhaps colonize our endless solar system. Britt said that: