An international research team led by ZARM scientist Dr. Cyprien Verseux has now identified a cyanobacteria subspecies that seems to be best suited for use in a biological life support system that would allow humans to survive on Mars. The results are described in the journal "Applied and Environmental Microbiology".

At first glance, the inhospitable environment of the Red Planet seems to hold few usable resources for a life support system or food production. But the high-carbon (95%), nitrogen-containing atmosphere and red regolith soil, rich in iron and minerals, are suitable for such bioprocesses – and the key are cyanobacteria. Fed with Martian rocks, dust and atmosphere and with the capability of photosynthesis, some microorganisms within this phylum could produce oxygen and form biomass, which could serve various purposes – including food production.

This approach is not new to space exploration research, yet progress in the field has been slowed down by the lack of a shared model bacterium – the Cyanobacteria phylum counts thousands of species. Cyprien Verseux and his colleagues have now succeeded in identifying the cyanobacteria strain Anabaena sp. PCC 7938 as the most promising cyanobacterium for a life support system on Mars.

Their results show that this specific cyanobacterium species is extraordinary able to utilize the nutrients in the regolith, is resistant to toxic compounds found inside, and can serve as a nutrient source for other microorganisms and plants. In the lab, the team achieved, among other things, cultivating duckweed as a higher, nutrient-rich plant, using cyanobacterium biomass as the only feedstock.

With these findings, the science team hopes to boost the research on the so-called in situ resource utilization processes for Mars – meaning the utilization of resources that are native to the Red Planet. At the same time, they are working on the concept and design of a fully functional photobioreactor based on Anabaena sp. PCC 7938 as part of a biological life support system.

Research Report:Selection of Anabaena sp. PCC 7938 as a Cyanobacterium Model for Biological ISRU on Mars

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