Physiological and evolutionary responses of cyanobacteria in a sustainable Mars exploration program

Introduction

The world’s major space agencies share a goal of sending humans to Mars within the next few decades. A sustainable human presence there, akin to today’s presence in Antarctica, could generate paradigm-shifting knowledge at an unprecedented pace.

Challenges of Mars Exploration

One major challenge lies in providing the food, oxygen, and other necessary consumables: these cannot be shipped from the Earth over the long term. They should instead be produced on site, and for this, Nostocaceae cyanobacteria can be instrumental.

Role of Cyanobacteria

Fed with materials available in the Martian ground and atmosphere, they could provide feedstock for a range of bioprocesses which, in turn, could produce a wide range of consumables. However, fundamental knowledge is lacking to turn this concept into practical solutions.

Knowledge Gaps

The physiology of cyanobacteria in the foreseen cultivation conditions is poorly understood. These conditions combine:

• Low total pressures
• Low partial pressures of dinitrogen
• Interactions with a basaltic substrate from which nutrients are leached
• High concentrations of chaotropic salts

Proposed Project

In the proposed project, I will enable a deep understanding of cyanobacterial physiology in these conditions.

Methodology

For this, I will employ a unique approach combining:

1. Cultivation assays in unique hardware previously developed by my team
2. Adaptive laboratory evolution
3. Cutting-edge omics technologies
4. The development of a mathematical model which can predict the productivity and efficiency of cyanobacterium cultivation from Martian resources
5. The construction of a testbed for the experimental validation of this model

Goals and Applications

I will use the generated knowledge and tools to design, characterize, and demonstrate the viability of bioprocesses which dramatically improve the odds that Mars exploration is done in a sustainable way.

Future Directions

Finally, I will adapt the concepts developed for bioproduction on Mars to open new avenues for sustainability on Earth, which I plan to follow up by applying for an ERC Proof of Concept Grant.