Sustainable Bioproduction on Mars

Abstract

Scientific goals: Overarching goal: Providing a basis for sustainable bioproduction processes that rely on Martian resources. This entails, notably: • Determining the fitness level and coping mechanisms of cyanobacteria under on-site cultivation conditions. Methods: standard microbiology assays; adaptive laboratory evolution; proteomics; genome resequencing; low-pressure experiments. • Developing and characterizing microbial-based processes that convert cyanobacterial biomass into a substrate for secondary producers (here, plants and plastic-producing microbes) and recover chemical energy. Methods: microbial reactor-based experiments; various analytical chemistry methods; in vitro plant cultivation; system analyses. • Developing and characterizing novel plant irrigation technologies that improve the consumption and application efficacy of a nutrient solution. Methods: system analyses; hardware prototyping and testing; soilless plant cultivation.