Posted on 11/22/2022 11:40:53 AM PST by BenLurkin
Pseudomonas putida, the plastic-craving microorganism. Organized by SeedLabs in a collaboration with MIT Media Lab Space Exploration Initiative, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Weill Cornell Medicine, and Harvard Medical School, the upcoming experiments will test out the microbes’ capabilities in space, potentially providing important advancements for both pollution reduction on Earth as well as uses for astronauts during future lunar and Martian explorations. As Fast Company explained earlier today, Pseudomonas putida is not only capable of breaking down PET, an extremely common plastic often used in bottling and packaging, but also turning those broken down compounds into β-ketoadipic acid, “a nylon monomer that can be made into fabric or used in existing manufacturing processes.”
Researchers are hopeful that the microbes’ development in a zero-gravity, high UV radiation-environment might actually strengthen the organisms, which would be a boon both for future space missions as well as humans’ attempts to rein in pollution here on Earth.
(Excerpt) Read more at popsci.com ...
Do you really think it’s a good idea to send “plastic eating microbes” to a closed environment full of plastics?
I guess nobody watched Andromeda Strain.
My first thought as well.
Similar thoughts came to my mind...
What they need to develop is a fast growing weed that can survive in nearly any environment and then take that stuff to Mars and let it do it’s thing.
Bacteria and microbes, Hmm ,so they’re sending Beyond Meat ? LOL
Read “Mutant 59, The Plastic Eaters”. 1971
Send Mars Quackgrass. The whole place will be covered in a decade.
“Do you really think it’s a good idea to send “plastic eating microbes” to a closed environment full of plastics?
I guess nobody watched Andromeda Strain.”
Better to study real science that reference fiction.
I’ve actually been noodling over that for years now, but haven’t been able to run any experiments yet.
Lichens are *probably* the best option to start with because of their cold tolerance and their ability to grow on bare rock, but I don’t know how well they’d handle the lack of oxygen.
Chia would do outstandingly well on bare rock, and would most likely thrive in a low-oxygen environment, but it can’t handle the cold, so it would be reserved for indoor use. If robots go first and start building housing for later human colonists, chia would be a great starting plant for those buildings. The plants would produce oxygen for the colony while building up a supply of biomatter that could be fed to livestock, or composted into soil.
Temperature and lack of oxygen aren’t the only problems.
You’d also have to find a plant that can tolerate nearly absolute lack of water, constant exposure to cosmic radiation, and regular violent dust storms that can last for months.
Dandelions will work. They laugh at Roundup.
Ummm, I guess they’ve never read the story “Mutant 59”.🙄
You beat me to it.😏
Yes, but I don’t have enough information about how lichens and chia respond to those to form a hypothesis.
Not a huge fan of Dandelion wine, but I guess if you are in outer space you will probably take what you can get.
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