The case for biotech on Mars

Fundamental Biological Features of Spaceflight: Advancing the Field to Enable Deep-Space Exploration

“…Also, individual sensitivity to spaceflight stressors can greatly modulate biological responses, depending on genetic, demographic, and lifestyle variabilities. Thus, it is critical to establish and utilize a multi-omic approach as outlined in Figure 4 to further study these health risks and individual responses, including comprehensive monitoring of these molecular and cellular responses to enable personalized aerospace medicine, even on Mars (Nangle et al, 2020). In addition, multi-omics approachs have been used to predict risks of spaceflight hazards on individuals (Heuskin et al, 2016), as well as identify protection (Cortese et al, 2018).…”

Martian biolith: A bioinspired regolith composite for closed-loop extraterrestrial manufacturing

“…Chitosan forms transparent objects similar in appearance and mechanical characteristics to commodity plastics [23], a property lacking in the current materials deployable in early stage Mars settlements [7]. While chitosan on its own can be useful in specific applications, the composition of biolith ( Fig 1A) has the minimum amount of metabolically expensive chitosan needed to produce a material with sound mechanical properties and general application.…”

“…To minimize energy cost, Martian manufacturing strategies capitalize on the abundant inorganic components readily available in the regolith of the planet's surface. However, these manufacturing methods are based on technologies developed for the bountiful paradigm of Earth and are commonly characterized by processes involving elevated temperature and pressure [4,5], polymers with complex and dedicated biosynthesis [6], limited reclamation [7], and niche uses [8]. Since any resource obtained on Mars comes at an opportunity cost, the sustainable production of these materials must be contextualized in a Martian ecosystem.…”

“…Working with simple chemistry suitable for early Martian settlement, we produced Martian biolith using chitosan derived from arthropod cuticle (shrimp, 75–85% Degree of Deacetylation) via treatment with sodium hydroxide, a component obtainable on Mars through electrolytic hydrolysis [ 19 ]. Chitosan was dissolved in a low concentration of acetic acid (i.e., 1% v/v), the simplest carboxylic acid and a common byproduct in both aerobic and anaerobic fermentations, which is a vital process in a biotechnological strategy suited for Mars [ 20 , 21 ]. The pH-based, simplified chemistry used here for the extraction and manufacture of chitosan requiring only water (available in the form of subsurface ice), sodium hydroxide, and acetic acid, can be further simplified if the polymer is obtained from an ecosystem involving fungi and, therefore, not requiring deacetylation/NaOH, or can be avoided completely by the use of enzymatic fractionation [ 11 ].…”

Molecular Pharming to Support Human Life on the Moon, Mars, and Beyond

“…A space foundry, of which a medical foundry is a subset, must be capable of utilizing a limited set of inputs (ideally in situ resources with minimal flown resources) to generate a wide spectrum of outputs and must be able to do so in a simple, closed loop. Recent literature have detailed a compelling narrative for the use of biotechnology to answer these challenges 15,20,21 . The Center for Utilization of Biological Engineering in Space (https://cubes.space) is a multi-university effort to realize the inherent mass, power, and volume advantages of space biotechnology and advance the practicality of a nearly closed loop, photoautotrophic factory for production of food, pharmaceuticals, and materials on a Mars mission.…”