Exploring the biology of cyanobacteria in life support systems on Mars

Engineering notes

Engineering notes will be added by the Power for Solar editorial team.

Chinese explanation / 中文解读

中文解读待补充：本站会优先为光伏效率、钙钛矿太阳能电池、储能技术、太阳能热利用、BIPV、并网技术等高价值论文补充中文说明。

Original abstract

Biological life support systems (BLSSs) will likely play a key role in enabling habitable environments on Mars. Cyanobacteria are strong candidates as core BLSS components as several strains are able to grow under gas compositions comparable to the Martian atmosphere, while others can be cultured on simulated Martian soil (regolith simulant). Furthermore, cyanobacteria offer potential for sustainable biotechnological applications, including the production of useful biomolecules and biomaterials. However, substantial research is still required to predict how cyanobacteria will perform when utilising Martian resources. Here we review current progress on the cultivation of cyanobacteria within integrated BLSS systems capable of in situ resource utilisation and identify key priorities for future research, including the physiological and omic impacts of atmospheric composition and pressure, diurnal light levels and spectral quality, and growth medium compositions. Progress in these areas could be critical to determine whether cyanobacteria can be effectively deployed in Mars-based BLSSs, and to guide engineering strategies to further optimise strain fitness and performance.

Links and sources

• PDF from original source

Comments