The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Mini miners head into space
Exper iments in mining conducted in orbit could pave the way for new technologies to aid space exploration and help establish human settlements elsewhere in the Solar System, a new study suggests.
Using matchbox- sized mining devices, developed by Edinburgh University, astronauts may be able to extract useful bacteria from rocks on Mars and the moon.
The devices, called biomining reactors, were developed at the UK Centre for Astrobio logy at Edinburgh University over a 10-year period.
The reactors could help scientists develop ways of sourcing metals and minerals – such as iron and magnesium – essential for survival in space.
The 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.
When a SpaceX rocket launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida in July 2019 headed for the International Space Station ( ISS), 18 of the mining devices were aboard.
The three-week experiment was conducted under space gravity conditions to simulate environments on Mars and the moon.
The team’ s findings suggest bacteria could enhance the removal of rare Earth elements from basalt in Martian and lunar landscapes by around 400%.
Rare Earth elements are widely used in technology industries including mobile phones, computers and magnets. Microbes are also routinely used on Earth in the process of biomining to extract economically useful elements such as copper and gold from rocks.
The experiments have also provided new data on how gravity influences the growth of microbes here on Earth, researchers say.
Libby Jackson, human exploration programme manager at the UK Space Agency, said: “Experiments like this show how the UK, through the UK Space Agency, is playing a pivotal role in the European Space Agency’s programme.
“Findings from experiments like this will not only help develop technology that will allow humans to explore our solar system further but also helps scientists from a wide range of disciplines gain knowledge that can benefit all of us on Earth.”