Asteroids Could Be Broken Down for Microbes to Convert into Biomass for Food on Space Missions
Ensuring sufficient food during deep space missions is a significant challenge. Growing food is difficult and requires substantial resources. Relying solely on pre-supplied food can pose risks for long-duration trips.
In a recent study published in The International Journal of Astrobiology on October 3, a team of scientists from Western University in Ontario, Canada, proposed that astronauts could utilize a special nutrient source: asteroids.
Rock samples taken from the asteroid Bennu. (Photo: NASA).
Of course, astronauts wouldn’t actually eat rocks. The researchers’ idea is to employ a combination of chemical and physical processes to break down the asteroid, then provide the resulting material to beneficial microbes. These microbes would convert the asteroid into “biomass,” which could technically sustain the astronauts.
This concept draws inspiration from a U.S. Department of Defense investigation into how to recycle plastic food containers from military meals into food. Initially, the plastic is broken down into gas and oil via pyrolysis. The oil is supplied to microbes in a bioreactor, turning it into nutritious biomass.
Simply put, the researchers are exploring ways to convert carbon into something resembling food, and a similar approach could be applied to carbon-rich asteroids like Bennu in space.
“What if we fed microbes fresh, pristine meteorites?” posed Annemiek Waajen, a postdoctoral researcher at Vrije University Amsterdam. According to Waajen’s research published in the journals Astrobiology and Scientific Reports, microbes would consume the carbon from the meteorites and grow.
Waajen noted that meteorites may have contributed to making early Earth habitable and influenced the initial evolution of life: numerous meteorites fell around the time life began, surrounding ancient single-celled organisms. “Many meteorite materials fell to the Earth’s surface around the time life started,” Waajen stated.
However, before astronauts can eat asteroids, scientists have much work to do. For instance, they are still uncertain whether the biomass produced would be toxic, not to mention that mining asteroids poses its own set of challenges.
Waajen admitted that the solution of eating asteroids is still a long way from realization. Nevertheless, the research team is excited to experiment with this new idea. “I promised to be the first to taste it. If I’m still alive, we can proceed with further studies,” shared Joshua Pearce, a professor of engineering at Western University and co-author of the new research.
