NASA is exploring the use of mycelium, the thread-like material inside mushrooms, to build habitats on the moon and Mars. The structures would include nutrient-producing cyanobacteria and water ice, and be baked to prevent contamination. The project could also have applications on Earth.
In hopes of finding a relatively cheap and logistically feasible way to build habitats for humans on the moon and Mars, NASA is turning to an unlikely source: mushrooms. The proposed structures wouldn’t look much like the mushroom houses seen in The Smurfs, but would definitely rely on a similar building material.
NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program has experimented with mycelium, the thread-like material inside mushrooms that can grow into complex structures. The mycelia could be used to build the internal structure of a dome-shaped habitat that would also include nutrient-producing cyanobacteria as a second layer and water ice on the outside.
While the mycelia would be alive as they grow and form structures, the finished houses would be “baked” to kill any life and prevent contamination.
NIAC’s work is to find a viable alternative to transporting building materials into space, but it has also opened up some possibilities for construction projects on Earth.
“When we design for space, we are free to experiment with new ideas and materials with far more freedom than we would on Earth,” said Lynn Rothschild, principal investigator of mycoarchitecture at NIAC. “And after these prototypes are designed for other worlds, we can bring them back to ours.”
Mushroom fun:
Many forms of fungi, including fungi, can lie dormant for decades but reawaken under the right conditions.
The largest living organism on Earth is the honey fungus, a fungus spread over 2,000 acres in Oregon.
One fungus has been found to be able to break down plastic in weeks, rather than months or years, and others are being used to turn crop waste into bioethanol.
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