Mycelium’s potential may go beyond structural materials, too. The Mycotecture Off Planet team says that mycelium could also be used for water filtration, bioluminescent lighting, humidity regulation, and even self-repair.
A little help from some little friends
Growing construction materials here on Earth is already an advanced application of mycelium’s capabilities. Doing so on the Moon or Mars takes things to the next level.
The Mycotecture Off Planet project envisions astronauts bringing a basic, compact structure with them to their destination, or perhaps sending it on a cargo run before they arrive. This structure would be made of lightweight material implanted with dormant fungi. Upon arrival, the astronauts would unfold that structure and add water (perhaps sourced from local ice) and nutrients. The water would wake up the fungi, and the nutrients would direct the mycelium’s growth.
The tricky thing about doing this off-planet is the need to provide nutrients. Ecovative Design, a leading mycelial engineering firm, grows its materials using agricultural waste such as sawdust and corn stalks. Here on Earth, that’s a great way to reduce waste and grow sustainably. But agricultural byproducts would hardly be abundant in an off-world settlement, and bringing bulk nutrients from Earth to the Moon would be no more efficient than bringing fully grown bricks.
To make growing habitats in situ make sense, you need something that generates nutrients in situ as well.
One possible solution is cyanobacteria. These microorganisms use energy from the Sun to convert water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and complex organic compounds such as carbohydrates — a.k.a. food. Some types of cyanobacteria are extremophiles, meaning they thrive in environments that would be deadly to most other life forms. These are the perfect nutrient-making machines for mycotecture — taking resources already available on the Moon or Mars and turning them into food for fungi.
Grand designs
With all the ingredients figured out, it’s just a matter of putting them together. The Mycotecture Off Planet project envisions building a three-layered dome, with each layer containing a key ingredient.
The outermost layer would be made of water ice, which could be sourced from the local environment. That ice would come into contact with a second layer containing cyanobacteria, which would take that water, along with the outside light that shines through the icy layer, and convert it to oxygen for astronauts and nutrients for the final layer: the mycelium.
Those of us who are interested in discovering native life on Mars might balk at the idea of a habitat made of hardy microbes and fast-growing fungi. But Rothschild’s team has been mindful of contamination, and plans to implement planetary protection measures like genetically altering their fungi to be incapable of surviving outside the habitat.
While much of this grand vision is still theoretical, the Mycotecture Off Planet team is steadily working toward making it a reality. So far, they’ve grown a prototype lunar habitat — focusing first on the Moon to align with NASA’s Moon-to-Mars architecture — and tested their methods with various species of fungus. With a third round of funding awarded by NIAC in 2024, the project has a lot of room to keep growing.
The future is fungal
Space exploration demands innovation. That’s why so many technologies that we take for granted today have their roots in space engineering. Mycelial architecture is yet another innovation being explored for its potential in space but with many possible applications here on Earth.
The Mycotecture Off Planet team is already pursuing such terrestrial applications, with a focus on how mycelial structures could be used in situations where rapid and low-cost construction is needed, like in places with endemic poverty. DARPA, the U.S. military’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, has also funded research into growing mycelial structures in conflict zones or humanitarian disaster sites, where creating shelters quickly could save lives.
Mycelium is useful for far more than construction, too. Someday, you may find yourself at the grocery store taking out your faux leather wallet to buy an imitation steak — both mycelium-based products in development right now — and heading to an art gallery to see some fungal sculptures. With so much potential to change our world and how we explore others, there’s little doubt that fungi are going to play a big part in our future.
#space #explorers #grow #habitats
