Sustainable Space Habitats

The International Space Station (ISS) was established in 1998, and has sustained human habitation in space for more than 20 years, while also acting as the most important astrobiology laboratory. Space agencies and the International Space Exploration Cooperation Group (ISECG) are ready for a new era of human space exploration through the Artemis program to the Moon.

The Lunar Gateway will be the next human space habitat, orbiting the Moon, as a preparation for future human presence on the Lunar surface. This will mark the next great step in Earth-independent resource management in human space exploration. Since astronauts on the ISS are still highly dependent on Earth for resupply missions that bring food and material resources, new biotechnologies are expected to help utilize in situ resources and ultimately achieve Earth-independance and sustainability of future space habitats.

International efforts to advance human space exploration to the Moon and Mars can answer major challenges in In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU), sustainability and circular bioeconomy.

On Earth, microbiology plays an important role in maintaining human health and advancing sustainability. Microbial extremophiles can enable biotechnologies to help achieve sustainability of human habitation in space. But how can we utilize microorganisms to recycle resources in space habitats? Can microbial biotechnological processes perform well under space conditions?