The POT He has been working on the project for several years. Mycotecture Outside the Planetwhich is part of the Innovative Advanced Concepts Program (NIAC) and is already in the phase three developmental at the entity’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California.
This will allow in the future to use fungal mycelium compounds to literally Growing Fungi-Based Homes and Furniture in Spaceand that would allow populate Space in an ecological and safe way.
This would mark a precedent in the exploration of the cosmos without generating space debris as is currently the case, along with reducing mass and saving resources for other crew priorities, also allowing Big steps in other NASA projects that seek inhabit the Earth’s Moon and the planet Mars in the next years.
Mushroom houses in space: This is how NASA’s ambitious project works
NASA’s mycotecture project proposes that in the future astronauts travel to space carrying compact habitats made of lightweight material and containing mushrooms in formation.
Once at their destination, these will begin to grow around the structure by adding water to them. And thanks to the myceliathe internal strands that make up mushrooms, nature will do its thing, creating a organic multipurpose material that allows grow furniture and even a functional home for explorers who are carrying out missions in the Outer space.
In the early stages of the project, the team led by NASA senior research scientist Lynn Rothschild He has already worked on the creation of multiple combinations of fungal-based biocompositesThe manufacture of brick prototypes which were tested in a planetary simulator and the design of detailed lunar habitats based on fungal components.
NASA microarchitecture project reaches phase three of development
In this new stage, the NASA Ames Research Center team will receive $2,000,000 over two years to continue the technological development of the project, which will allow progress in the optimization of material properties and first tests in low Earth orbit of organic habitats made based on mushrooms with a view to a future demonstration mission in the space.
“We are committed to advancing technologies to transport our astronauts, house our explorers, and facilitate valuable research.“, he pointed Walt Engelund, associate program administrator for NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate. “We invest in these technologies throughout their life cycle, recognizing their potential to help us achieve our goals, benefiting the industry, our agency and humanity.”
