As NASA prepares for long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars, a new concept for growing homes using fungi could revolutionize future explorers’ habitats. A team at NASA Ames Research Center will receive $2 million over two years under the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program to develop their Mycotecture Off Planet project.
The mycotecture project involves developing technologies that can “grow” habitats on the Moon, Mars, and beyond using fungi and their underground threads, known as mycelia. Explorers could travel with a compact habitat built from lightweight material containing dormant fungi. By adding water, fungi can potentially grow around this framework into a fully functional human habitat.
This project has multiple uses, including reducing mass and saving resources for additional mission priorities. It also has potential applications on Earth, such as using mycelia for water filtration and mineral extraction from wastewater.
The NIAC program supports visionary, early-stage research ideas through multiple progressive phases of study. The Phase III award will allow the research team to optimize material properties and progress toward testing in low Earth orbit. Future applications could include integration into commercial space stations or infusion into missions to the Moon with the ultimate goal of use on Mars.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said that as NASA prepares to explore farther into the cosmos than ever before, it will require new science and technology that doesn’t yet exist. The agency’s space technology team and NIAC program unlock visionary ideas that make the impossible possible.
Source: https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-advances-research-to-grow-habitats-in-space-from-fungi/