<aside> 🛰️ Make a soluble Mars Regolith Media - Phoenix site (sMRM-Phx) that models essential nutrients (nitrates, phosphates, sulfates) and is easy to make in a defined way for high-throughput and reproducible experimentation.
</aside>
Our first bottle of sMRM-Phx. We promise it’s not just water :)
| Reagent name + link to order | Chemical formula |
|---|---|
| Calcium perchlorate tetrahydrate | Ca(ClO₄)₂ · 4H₂O |
| Magnesium perchlorate hexahydrate | Mg(ClO₄)₂ · 6H₂O |
| Magnesium sulfate heptahydrate | MgSO₄ · 7H₂O |
| Nitric acid | HNO₃ |
| Potassium nitrate | KNO₃ |
| Sodium chloride | NaCl |
| Sodium nitrate | NaNO₃ |
| Sodium hydroxide | NaOH |
| Sodium phosphate dibasic heptahydrate | Na₂HPO₄ · 7H₂O |
| Sulfuric acid | H₂SO₄ |
For each of the salts above, we made a concentrated stock solution which can be combined to make the final sMRM. We made salts concentrates of 250-1000x depending on their solubility and used the acids and bases at standard molarities. These concentrations can vary depending on your needs or inventory and the math should be adjusted accordingly.
Example amounts for making 45mL of the concentrates stocks is in the table below in blue.
| Salt | Final Concentration (mM) in 1x sMRM | Concentrate Stock to make (X) | Concentration in stock (mM) | Concentration in stock (g/L) | Molecular Weight (g/mol) | Final volume (mL) | Amount to add for volume of stock (g) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NaCl | 0.79 | 1,000.00 | 790.00 | 46.17 | 58.44 | 45.00 | 2.08 |
| KNO₃ | 0.5 | 1,000.00 | 500.00 | 50.55 | 101.1032 | 45.00 | 2.27 |
| Ca(ClO₄)₂ * 4H₂O (tetrahydrate) | 1.17 | 500.00 | 585.00 | 181.96 | 311.04 | 45.00 | 8.19 |
| MgSO₄ * 7H₂O (heptahydrate) | 2.979 | 250.00 | 744.80 | 183.58 | 246.48 | 45.00 | 8.26 |
| Mg(ClO₄)₂ * 6H₂O (hexahydrate) | 0.275 | 500.00 | 137.50 | 45.55 | 331.3 | 45.00 | 2.05 |
| Na₂HPO₄ * 7H₂O (heptadyrate) | 0.1 | 1,000.00 | 100.00 | 26.81 | 268.07 | 45.00 | 1.21 |
For each stock solution above:
<aside> ⚠️
Safety warning: Perchlorate and perchlorate salts, even in low concentrations, are toxic and should be disposed of according to your local hazardous waste requirements.
</aside>