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Completed TRL 3 (started at 2, targeting 3)
Project Objective
This project seeks to obtain adhesive materials from the International Space Station (ISS) water bacteria using Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) waste materials in benchtop experiments.
Project Description
The need for sustainable human space exploration drives the development of innovative solutions for in-situ construction on Mars. Our project focuses on producing bio-based adhesives using microbial biomanufacturing, significantly upgrading the ECLSS Biofilm Lab at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). Traditional adhesive production methods are impractical for space due to the high cost and mass of transported materials. By making use of bacterial synthesis, we aim to create adhesives onsite, reducing payload mass and enhancing mission sustainability for the future. The use of microorganisms for this manufacturing process paired with a liquid-liquid extraction workstation designed to optimize the harvest of adhesives from bacterial cultures is innovative. This method addresses previous challenges in adhesive yield and efficiency and responds to NASA’s gap in biomanufacturing and developing in-situ processes using regolith and waste. This seedling work will: (1) down select vendors, finalize microbial organism, and construct process design diagram; and (2) develop optimal growth conditions alongside a glue product with relevant data for identification of adhesions.
Project Results and Conclusions
Benchtop experiments yielded bacterial growth results using aqueous mixtures with brine, Mars regolith simulant, and human stool. Burkholderia and Cupriavidus grew at more than 10^6 CFU using fecal matter after 48 hours as well as with regolith. Pre-treated brine salts in the aqueous solution had the least growth, indicating recovery of salts which contain pre-treat are not suitable for this biomanufacturing purpose. Further tests are being performed by external partners to identify the adhesin contents in the mixed sample with minimum required brine simulant, regolith simulant, and fecal matter.
The concept entails using ECLSS byproducts and regolith to sustain the biomanufacturing process and synthesize an extractable adhesive for use real-time, on-mission.
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