To new frontiers, Microbiology for nanotechnology and space exploration

Bacteria and other microorganisms are known and studied as an essential part of daily life and they are utilized in a variety of fields. This work identifies applications in nanotechnology and space research, using the same bacterium for both: Shewanella oneidensis. The extracellular electron transfer (EET) mechanism situated mainly in the cell...

Reply to comment by Keith J. Beven and Hannah L. Cloke on "Hyperresolution global land surface modeling: Meeting a grand challenge for monitoring earth's terrestrial water"

Iron can be microbially extracted from Lunar and Martian regolith simulants and 3D printed into tough structural materials

In-situ resource utilization (ISRU) is increasingly acknowledged as an essential requirement for the construction of sustainable extra-terrestrial colonies. Even with decreasing launch costs, the ultimate goal of establishing colonies must be the usage of resources found at the destination of interest. Typical approaches towards ISRU are...

Microbial biomanufacturing for space-exploration-what to take and when to make

As renewed interest in human space-exploration intensifies, a coherent and modernized strategy for mission design and planning has become increasingly crucial. Biotechnology has emerged as a promising approach to increase resilience, flexibility, and efficiency of missions, by virtue of its ability to effectively utilize in situ resources and...

Biocompatible Graphene Oxide Nanosheets Densely Functionalized with Biologically Active Molecules for Biosensing Applications

Graphene oxide (GO) has immense potential for widespread use in diverse in vitro and in vivo biomedical applications owing to its thermal and chemical resistance, excellent electrical properties and solubility, and high surface-to-volume ratio. However, development of GO-based biological nanocomposites and biosensors has been hampered by its...

Human Assisted Robotic Vehicle Studies - A conceptual end-to-end mission architecture

With current space exploration roadmaps indicating the Moon as a proving ground on the way to human exploration of Mars, it is clear that human-robotic partnerships will play a key role for successful future human space missions. This paper details a conceptual end-to-end architecture for an exploration mission in cis-lunar space with a focus...

A Straightforward Approach for 3D Bacterial Printing

Sustainable and personally tailored materials production is an emerging challenge to society. Living organisms can produce and pattern an extraordinarily wide range of different molecules in a sustainable way. These natural systems offer an abundant source of inspiration for the development of new environmentally friendly materials production...

Mining moon & mars with microbes: Biological approaches to extract iron from Lunar and Martian regolith

The logistical supply of terrestrial materials to space is costly and puts limitations on exploration mission scenarios. In-situ resource utilization (ISRU) can alleviate logistical requirements and thus enables sustainable exploration of space. In this paper, a novel approach to ISRU, utilizing microorganisms to extract iron from Lunar or...

End-to-end mission design for microbial ISRU activities as preparation for a moon village

In situ resource utilization (ISRU) increasingly features as an element of human long-term exploration and settlement missions to the lunar surface. In this study, all requirements to test a novel, biological approach for ISRU are validated, and an end-to-end mission architecture is proposed. The general mission consists of a lander with a...

Creation of Conductive Graphene Materials by Bacterial Reduction Using Shewanella Oneidensis

Graphene's maximized surface-to-volume ratio, high conductance, mechanical strength, and flexibility make it a promising nanomaterial. However, large-scale graphene production is typically cost-intensive. This manuscript describes a microbial reduction approach for producing graphene that utilizes the bacterium Shewanella oneidensis in...