Space settlements made of mushrooms? NASA supports plans to build settlements on the Moon and Mars using fungi

NASA's Bold Leap Toward Fungal Habitats in Space

NASA is making a bold leap toward the future of space exploration to begin building settlements on the Moon and Mars by dishing out $2 million in research funding for 25 selected projects, including one experiment that will use fungi as tools. Join the Mycotecture project to investigate using fungal mycelium as a habitat-building organic material for space.

In this high-tech concept, astronauts would ferry a small, lightweight frame packed with dormant fungus to distant space locations. When they introduced water, these fungi would develop within the framework and create durable structures resilient against radiation - perfect for long-duration sheathing to support humans in space.

The Nature of Mycelium

Mycelium (plural mycelia) is a mass of thread-like hyphae typically produced as the vegetative structure by fungi, which spread into or on the surface.

This natural material has excellent performance: light but robust, adaptable, and sustainable, making it a great choice for new construction. Mycelium has highly unique and exciting properties that the Mycotecture project exploits, suggesting using bricks made from fungal root structures for building space habitats.

One of the most significant advantages of growing mycelium is that it can be bound to other materials. Bricks made of mycelium, yard waste, and wood chips are proof of concept for the project. This means these bricks have been proven in actual testing scenarios to work as a building material for domiciles on the Moon (and Mars).

Transport and Growth of Fungal Structures

The most exciting feature of Mycotecture is how to get such a mass of fungi into place and ready for business. Since they are light and in a dormant state of growth, astronauts would bring these fungal frameworks with them instead of launching heavy building materials from the Earth.

The frameworks would be hydrated after reaching the Moon or Mars, which would cause the fungi to grow and create a robust, living shell around them.

Utilizing fungi has the additional benefit of self-sustainability while at rest, reducing payload weight. MycoformMiura Ori with bolts installed since the mycelium grows; it will naturally follow the form of its network, molding an operational and modular home.

Developing a mycelium-based habitat is an innovative and environmentally friendly way to create structures because it requires minimal raw materials or energy.

Integrating Cyanobacteria for Sustainability

Fungal habitats have a promising potential not just as a structural material. The ZERO-Energy Living System for Alan and Shelly (ZELDAas) photo by Phil Ross Mycotecture has other life forms that it aspires to include in the habitat, such as cyanobacteria because cyanobacteria themselves are photosynthetic microorganisms that can produce oxygen and nutrients through the power of light, which is just enough for mycelium growth to maintain human lives.

The mycelium offers the astronauts a structure that can resist radiation and afford them performance stability, originating from being grown in microgravity. In contrast, the cyanobacteria generate oxygen and food and a real-time water recycling system via membranes segregating each alveolus/algae.

These system levels of integration advance the sustainability and resilience of habitat, creating a regenerative life-supportive environment on the Moon or Mars.

Future Plans and Phase III Funding

Many steps forward have been taken with Mycotecture to introduce the potential of building using mycelium. The researchers plan to design and build mycelia-based moon bases with detailed blueprints based on their tests. These initial experiments have been successful and could lead to the next steps possible through Phase III funding of NASA's NIAC (NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts) program.

By maintaining this support, the Mycotecture research team hopes to increase the strength and functionality of fungal materials. Tests scheduled in Earth's low orbit will generate essential data to support the inclusion of mycelium as a building for space habitats.

The work will also inform the development of scalable construction technologies and processes for mycelium-based habitats on the Moon and Mars.

Earthly Applications and Environmental Benefits

Although space travel is the primary application of this technology within Mycotecture, it demonstrates tremendous promise for large-scale environmental applications on Earth.

Mycelium-based materials can also be used for environmental implementations, like filtration of wastewater and recovery of minerals. Mycelium naturally filters water and rids it of contaminants while reclaiming minerals from the substances, which can lead to a healthier solution for environmental management.

While the trajectory towards building lunar and Engineers are currently plotting Martian fungal abodes., this early approach to Mycotecture has already planted some solid seeds. However, some significant hurdles remain, such as making mycelium structure sustainable and stable for the long term in space. The research team is trying to address these issues by performing more dedicated testing and optimization.

Activation and Ecosystem Integration

Similarly, but equally as importantly, we need to develop streamlined techniques for activating and controlling the mycelium growth in the extraterrestrial. Failure to maintain growth with exquisite precision will be critical in sustaining habitats structurally and functionally. Lastly, including cyanobacteria and other living organisms in the habitat is more challenging as it will require careful planning and experimentation so that We can create a synchronized and sustainable ecosystem.

The Mycotecture project, funded by NASA, is a visionary approach to sustainable space colonies. Based on the unique properties of fungal mycelium, Project FUNGAR proposes using an innovative method to create lightweight and easily adaptable habitats for lunar and Martian missions. Additionally, pairing the habitats with cyanobacteria allows these environments to reach their full potential and could give us a self-sustaining ecosystem capable of supporting human life in space.

A Sustainable Future in Space and on Earth

With research and development in full swing, the Mycotecture project is on track to change how we envision space habitats. If they prove successful, the mycelium structures may lead to more environmentally friendly and affordable missions into space, inching humanity one step closer to permanent extraterrestrial habitation.

As we look to the future and consider some of the possible environmental savings on Earth - this groundbreaking research has just increased its scope from fans in space to cool roofs improving urban heat islands, emphasizing that We can use our promising fungi-derived materials for so many applications.