This wild bioplastic made of algae just aced a Mars pressure test
EL.KZ Информационно-познавательный портал
In a potential milestone for space exploration, scientists have successfully grown algae under simulated Martian conditions using equipment made from biodegradable bioplastics — a step that could bring long-term space colonization closer to reality, El.kz cites space.com.
As interest in human missions to Marsgrows, scientists are focusing on how to sustain life in space without constant resupply from Earth. A team of researchers led by Robin Wordsworth of Harvard University demonstrated that green algae can not only survive but thrive inside bioplastic chambers designed to mimic the extreme environment of the Red Planet.
"If you have a habitat that is composed of bioplastic, and it grows algae within it, that algae could produce more bioplastic," Wordsworth said in a statement. "So you start to have a closed-loop system that can sustain itself and even grow through time."
Despite these extreme conditions, the algae were able to perform photosynthesis, according to the statement.
"We have demonstrated that habitable conditions can be maintained in extraterrestrial environments using only biologically produced materials," the researchers wrote in a paper published earlier this month in the journal Science Advances. "The results reported here represent an important step forward, but many additional steps are needed to enable robust ecosystems to be sustained long-term beyond Earth."
Wordsworth and his team attribute the experiment’s success to the bioplastic chamber, which shielded the algae from harmful ultraviolet radiation while still allowing sufficient light to penetrate. Though liquid water cannot normally exist at such low pressures, the team created a pressure gradient within the chamber that stabilized liquid water, enabling biological activity.
The results suggest that bioplastics could be a viable material for constructing habitats on Mars and other celestial bodies, scientists say. Unlike conventional industrial materials, which are expensive to transport and difficult to recycle off-Earth, bioplastics can potentially be produced and reused on-site using biological processes, according to the statement.
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