Could a Radiation Shield Made of Fungus Keep Astronauts Safe During Space Travel?

Science Alert ^ | 14 NOVEMBER 2021 | SCOTT ALAN JOHNSTON, UNIVERSE TODAY

[BenLurkin]

Cladosporium sphaerospermum could form a living shield around astronauts in space.

The fungus not only blocks radiation but actually uses it to grow, through a process call radiosynthesis: It pulls energy from radiation, just as most plants pull energy from sunlight via photosynthesis.

These radiation-loving fungi survive on Earth in extreme places, like the site of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine.

In space, they do just as well. In 2019, researchers flew some of the fungi to the ISS, watching how it grew over a period of 30 days, and measuring the amount of radiation that passed through it, as compared to a control sample with no fungi.

The experiment showed that radiation levels beneath a 1.7-millimeter-thick (0.07 inches) bed of fungus were about 2.17 percent lower than the control.

Not only that, but the fungus grew about 21 percent faster than it does on Earth, meaning that the fungi's ability to act as a protective shield for astronauts could actually grow more robust the longer a mission lasts.

It's too early to get overly excited about the practical applications of this fungus in space travel. The team estimates that on Mars, to bring radiation levels down to Earth-like conditions, a habitat would need to be covered with a 2.3-meter-thick (7.5 feet) layer of radiosynthesizing fungi.

The same effect could be achieved by burying the habitat beneath 3 meters of Martian dirt (regolith). Still, the potential for biological solutions to what are often considered engineering challenges is a unique approach and may prove fruitful.

[spokeshave]

The fungus not only blocks radiation but actually uses it to grow

[Redcitizen]

Fungi Ping.

[telescope115]

But if they would do an experiment based on this, it might yield useful information- either it will work, or it won’t.