Mining rocks in orbit could aid deep space exploration

The first mining experiments conducted in space could pave the way for new technologies to help humans explore and establish settlements on distant worlds, a study suggests.

Tests performed by astronauts on the International Space Station suggest that bacteria can extract useful materials from rocks on Mars and the Moon. The findings could aid efforts to develop ways of sourcing metals and minerals—such as iron and magnesium—essential for survival in space.

Bacteria could one day be used to break rocks down into soil for growing crops, or to provide minerals for life support systems that produce air and water, researchers say. Matchbox-sized mining devices—called biomining reactors—were developed by scientists at the UK Centre for Astrobiology at the University of Edinburgh over a 10-year period. Eighteen of the devices were transported to the space station—which orbits the Earth at an altitude of around 250 miles—aboard a SpaceX rocket launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida, US, in July 2019.

Read more at Phys.org

Image Credit: Charles Cockell

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