Team:DTU-Denmark

Fungal building materials for extreme environments

Colonization of uninhabitable areas, like Mars, will require building materials to be transported to the site of deployment. Transport limitations such as space and weight make this process very expensive. Based on these challenges, we propose to make building materials from fungal mycelium to be grown on site. Our project is focused on how to optimize the material properties of the fungi through engineering of basic fungal characteristics. Our initial studies identified Aspergillus oryzae as the best candidate chassis for material properties and ease of genetic engineering. Based on our choice of fungi, we decided to increase the gene expression of melanin to improve A. oryzae’s capabilities of withstanding UV radiation and change the colors of the fungi by inserting a blue chromoprotein gene. Furthermore, we have designed a final geometric structure that can withstand external conditions and reduce the amount of work needed to assemble it.

The Plan

PHASE ONE - Preparations on Earth

We’d begin by having the fully prepared fungus species ready for launch.
Data confirming that the proper genes are in the GMO fungus will be collected.
A clear model of the structure would be confirmed and tested for the necessary exposure.

PHASE TWO - Inventory

The space shuttle would need to have the essentials for our fungus to be grown.
Vials of spores from our GMO fungus would be prepared and a necessary means of biomass, most likely cyanobacteria, will be included.
Specific molds will let the fungus grow in a desired shape. Creating the pieces for the dome.
General laboratory tools will have to be included to perform the needed work.

PHASE THREE - Producing the Sheets

Plate production will be established inside a provisional inflatable tent.
Biomass and spores will be combined in easy-to-manage molds.
Growth in a confined place will let the fungus achieve the desired shape.
When the mold is appropriately filled, the fungus will be extracted and killed as preparation for the building process.

PHASE FOUR - Assembly

Our design will be created as a dome from three different triangular shapes.
The actual structure will be from the dome itself, but it will not be able to counteract the inner pressure from our man made atmosphere.
For this, a layer of sand, mixed with a modified version of biocement, will be placed on top of the dome.
To create the atmosphere, cyanobacteria will be kept cultivated inside the dome.

PHASE FIVE - Will we land on Mars?

The first space race that led to the moon landing was hugely influenced by political currents, but the will to expand is a notion that dates back to the period after the era of imperialism.
Many parallels from the moon landing can be drawn to the current race of getting the human race to Mars, where it can be concluded that getting there is inevitable.

Challenges

Growth of the fungi in the martian environment can prove to be a problem.

The fungal spores may be troublesome: They might smell and A. oryzae is a known allergen (1).

We have not researched whether the structural properties depend on being on earth, eg. lower pressure compromising strength.

Robot for assembly of the dome needs to be designed beforehand.

(1) Mousavi B, Hedayati MT, Hedayati N, Ilkit M, Syedmousavi S. 2016. Aspergillus species in indoor environments and their possible occupational and public health hazards. Curr Med Mycol 2:36–42.