Towards a Biomanufactory on Mars

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

doi:10.20944/preprints202012.0714.v1

Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Version 1 : Received: 27 December 2020 / Approved: 29 December 2020 / Online: 29 December 2020 (07:57:37 CET)

A crewed mission to and from Mars may include an exciting array of enabling biotechnologies that leverage inherent mass, power, and volume advantages over traditional abiotic approaches. In this perspective, we articulate the scientific and engineering goals and constraints, along with example systems, that guide the design of a surface biomanufactory. Extending past arguments for exploiting stand-alone elements of biology, we argue for an integrated biomanufacturing plant replete with modules for microbial \textit{in situ} resource utilization, production, and recycling of food, pharmaceuticals, and biomaterials required for sustaining future intrepid astronauts. We also discuss aspirational technology trends in each of these target areas in the context of human and robotic exploration missions in the coming century.

space systems bioengineering; human exploration; mars; in situ resource utilization; life support systems; biomanufacturing

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Towards a Biomanufactory on Mars

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