Very Tough Microbes May Help Us Cement Our Future on Mars
Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:
https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/09/microbe_martian_habitats/
[...] With an extremely thin and mostly carbon dioxide atmosphere, air pressure less than 1 percent of Earth's, and temperatures ranging from -90C up to 26C, Mars might not be a hospitable place for most terrestrial life forms, but some microorganisms have been found to thrive in acidic lakes, volcanic soils, and deep caves.
Polytechnic University of Milan materials engineering postdoctoral researcher Shiva Khoshtinat and a multidisciplinary team focused on a partnership between two bacteria: Sporosarcina pasteurii - which makes calcium carbonate through the breakdown of urea - and Chroococcidiopsis, which can survive extreme environments, including simulated Martian conditions.
The researchers propose a system in which the two organisms work together. Chroococcidiopsis releases oxygen, which helps support Sporosarcina pasteurii and produces an extracellular polymeric substance that can protect the latter bacteria from damaging UV radiation on Mars. Meanwhile, Sporosarcina produces polymers that help create minerals the authors think might be able to bind the Martian soil - regolith - to produce a material similar to concrete.
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