Towards a Biomanufactory on Mars

Berliner, Aaron J.; Hilzinger, Jacob M.; Abel, Anthony J.; McNulty, Matthew J.; Makrygiorgos, Georgios; Averesch, Nils; Gupta, Soumyajit; Benvenuti, Alexander; Caddell, Daniel; Cestellos-Blanco, Stefano; Doloman, Anna; Friedline, Skyler; Ho, Davian; Gu, Wenyu; Hill, Aaron; Kusuma, Paul; Lipsky, Isaac; Mirkovic, Mia; Meraz, Jorge Luis; Pane, Vincent Evan; Sander, Kyle B.; Shi, Fengzhe; Skerker, Jeffrey M.; Styer, Alexander; Valgardson, Kyle; Wetmore, Kelly M.; Woo, Sung-Geun; Xiong, Yongao; Yates, Kevin; Zhang, Cindy; Zhen, Shuyang; Bugbee, Bruce; Clark, Douglas S.; Coleman‐Derr, Devin; Mesbah, Ali; Nandi, Somen; Waymouth, Robert M.; Yang, Peidong; Criddle, Craig S.; McDonald, Karen A.; Seefeldt, Lance C.; Menezes, Amor A.; Arkin, Adam P.

doi:10.3389/fspas.2021.711550

Cited by 47 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 96 publications

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“…Engineered life support systems derive their sustainability from long, artificial supply chains that extend across Earth and out into space as the systems rely on resupply from the provisioning services of Earth to maintain operation (e.g., the ISS). An alternative to using Earth as a basis for sustainability that we will mention here (but leave detailed discussion to another paper) is to use another planetary body, such as Mars, as a basis (e.g., Kading and Straub 2015;Irons 2018;Berliner et al, 2021). For example, Irons (2018) proposes a "quasi-closed agroecological system" that utilizes ecological buffer zones, in situ resources, and ecosystem service reservoirs to establish natural cycles independent of supply chains from Earth.…”

Section: Supply Chain Sustainabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Terraform Sustainability Assessment Framework for Bioregenerative Life Support Systems

Irons

Irons²

2021

Front. Astron. Space Sci.

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In this perspective paper, we raise attention to the lack of methods or data to measure claims of sustainability for bioregenerative life support system designs and propose a method for quantifying sustainability. Even though sustainability is used as a critical mission criterion for deep space exploration, there result is a lack of coherence in the literature with the use of the word sustainability and the application of the criterion. We review a Generalized Resilient Design Framework for quantifying the engineered resilience of any environmental control and life support system and explain how it carries assumptions that do not fit the assumptions of sustainability that come out of environmental science. We explain bioregenerative life support system sustainability in the context of seven theoretical frameworks: a planet with soil, biogeochemical cycles, and ecosystem services provided to humans; human consumption of natural resources as loads and disturbances; supply chains as extensions of natural resources engineering application of; forced and natural cycles; bioregenerative systems as fragmented ecosystems; ecosystems as a network of consumer-resource interactions with critical factors occurring at ecosystem control points; and stability of human consumer resources. We then explain the properties of environmental stability and propose a method of quantifying resistance and resilience that are impacted by disturbances, extend this method to quantifying consistence and persistence that are impacted by feedback from loads. Finally, we propose a Terraform Sustainability Assessment Framework for normalizing the quantified sustainability properties of a bioregenerative life support system using the Earth model to control for variance.

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Section: Supply Chain Sustainabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Terraform Sustainability Assessment Framework for Bioregenerative Life Support Systems

Irons

Irons²

2021

Front. Astron. Space Sci.

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“…Bioplastics and pharmaceutical demands for a Martian habitat are not well-defined in the literature. For a system where 50% of spare parts necessary for a habitat are generated via additive manufacturing based on ISRU, Owens et al estimated that 9800 kg of spare parts mass would be necessary over 260 months (an extremely long duration with multiple resupplies and crew member exchanges) 20 Assuming these spares are generated from bioplastics, which are in turn produced from acetic acid at 50% yield by C 2 feedstock-utilizing microorganisms 21 , this corresponds to ∼0.1 kg/h acetic acid demand. We assume acetic acid is produced by acetogens with a molar ratio of 4.2:1 (corresponding to 95% of H 2 reducing power diversion to acetic acid production, a common value for acetogens), this corresponds to an H 2 :CH 3 COOH ratio of 0.155 kgH 2 /kg CH 3 COOH assuming 90% conversion.…”

Section: Author Contributionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Electrochemical equivalency factor parameters. dt 1 dt 2 : ∀i, j ∈ B 1 , B 2(21) where i, j, k are indices of bandgaps B 1 , B 2 , B 3 , t 1 is the time variable across a sol (∼24.616 hrs/sol), and t 2 is the time variable across a Martian year given as N = 688 sols/year. Computationally, we began by converting our L s values to the sol number using an inverted Kepler problem with a function ls2sol shown in Listing 5.…”

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confidence: 99%

Photovoltaics-driven power production can support human exploration on Mars

Abel¹,

Berliner²,

Mirkovic³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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A central question surrounding possible human exploration of Mars is whether crewed missions can be supported by available technologies using in situ resources. Here, we show that photovoltaics-based power systems would be adequate and practical to sustain a crewed outpost for an extended period over a large fraction of the planet's surface. Climate data were integrated into a radiative transfer model to predict spectrally-resolved solar flux across the Martian surface. This informed detailed balance calculations for solar cell devices that identified optimal bandgap combinations for maximizing production capacity over a Martian year. We then quantified power systems, manufacturing, and agricultural demands for a six-person mission, which revealed that photovoltaics-based power generation would require <10 t of carry-along mass, outperforming alternatives over ~50% of Mars' surface. Main TextLong-duration space missions or continuously-occupied extraterrestrial outposts require Earthindependent power and chemical supply. Mars has an abundance of in situ resources, including (sub)surface water ice (1) and carbon and nitrogen in atmospheric CO 2 and N2 (2). Efficient conversion of these resources to reduced forms of hydrogen, nitrogen, and carbon would represent an enabling step towards sustaining a permanent human presence in space. In analogy to the proposed terrestrial "Hydrogen Economy", molecular hydrogen (H2) can be used as a platform molecule for energy storage, on-demand power supply, and as a reactant driving CO2 and N2 (bio)chemical reduction on Mars (3-5).Water electrolysis with selective catalysts can drive water reduction to H2 on cathode surfaces. This technology is attractive for space manufacturing applications since reactions can proceed at high rates at

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“…Deployment of SBE platforms as mission critical elements will likely be reserved for longer duration human exploration missions such as those in the Artemis or Mars programs 10 . These future programs are still in the concept and planning stage in development, but will certainly be composed of a myriad of technologies that range in degree of flight-readiness as standardized by NASA's Technology Readiness Level 34 to the standardization and merging of exit criteria between hardware and software systems 35 .…”

Section: Development Of Means For Sbe Flightmentioning

confidence: 99%

Space Bioprocess Engineering on the Horizon

Berliner¹,

Lipsky²,

Ho³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Reinvigorated public interest in human space exploration has led to the need to address the science and engineering challenges described by NASA's Space Technology Grand Challenges (STGCs) for expanding the human presence in space. Here we define Space Bioprocess Engineering (SBE) as a multi-disciplinary approach to design, realize, and manage a biologically-driven space mission as it relates to addressing the STGCs for advancing technologies to support the nutritional, medical, and incidental material requirements that will sustain astronauts against the harsh conditions of interplanetary transit and habitation offworld. SBE combines synthetic biology and bioprocess engineering under extreme constraints to enable and sustain a biological presence in space. Here we argue that SBE is a critical strategic area enabling long-term human space exploration; specify the metrics and methods that guide SBE technology life-cycle and development; map an approach by which SBE technologies are matured on offworld testing platforms; and suggest a means to train the next generation spacefaring workforce on the SBE advantages and capabilities. In doing so, we outline aspects of the upcoming technical and policy hurdles to support space biomanufacturing and biotechnology. We outline a perspective marriage between space-based performance metrics and the synthetic biology Design-Build-Test-Learn cycle as they relate to advancing the readiness of SBE technologies. We call for a concerted effort to ensure the timely development of SBE to support long-term crewed missions using mission plans that are currently on the horizon.

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Towards a Biomanufactory on Mars

Cited by 47 publications

References 96 publications

Terraform Sustainability Assessment Framework for Bioregenerative Life Support Systems

Terraform Sustainability Assessment Framework for Bioregenerative Life Support Systems

Photovoltaics-driven power production can support human exploration on Mars

Space Bioprocess Engineering on the Horizon

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