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Abstract EANA2025-50


Sustainable Space Habitats: Cyanobacterial Biomass as Feedstock for Fungal Biotechnology

Isabel Santos de Sousa (1), (2), (3), Joana Azevedo (1), Cyprien Verseux (4), Paula Tamagnini (5), (6), Catarina Magalhães (1), (6) and Marta Cortesão (3), (6)
(1) CIIMAR - Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal (2) FEUP - Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto, Porto, Portugal (3) CAUP - Institute of Astrophysics and Space Sciences of the University of Porto, Porto, Portugal (4) ZARM - Centre of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany (5) i3s - Institute for Research and Innovation in Health, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal (6) FCUP - Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto, Porto, Portugal


Ensuring the sustainability of future space missions to the Moon and Mars depends on the development of Life Support Systems (LSS), capable of regenerating and producing essential resources, such as food, oxygen, water, medicine and construction materials. Bioregenerative Life Support Systems (BLSS) are particularly promising as they incorporate biological processes to recycle waste and produce these vital resources autonomously, reducing dependency on resupply missions from Earth. Filamentous fungi surge as promising candidates for such systems due to their adaptability, resilience, and broad biotechnological potential —from the production of structural biocomposites to radiation-protective melanin and valuable metabolites.

This study explores the feasibility of integrating Aspergillus niger into BLSS, by cultivating it on media formulated with a) Martian or Lunar regolith-based solutions – which could be readily prepared on-site; and b) cyanobacterial lysates, derived from strains that could potentially be used for oxygen and bioethanol production on future space missions.

Cyanobacterial lysates were prepared from four strains of Anabaena (PCC 7120, PCC 7938, LEGE X-002, and A. aphanizomenoides) which were cultivated in appropriate media conditions, oven-dried, and mechanically disrupted with glass beads. These lysates were incorporated at varying concentrations into media based on water-released minerals from Lunar (LHS-1) or Martian (MGS-1) regolith simulants. Fungal growth was assessed through measurement of dry biomass and pH monitorization during cultivation. HPLC analysis of culture supernatants from selected conditions was further conducted, to detect citric acid production.

Results  show that lysate from Anabaena sp. PCC 7120, at a concentration of 1 g/L (dry weight) supports the growth of A. niger in both Martian and Lunar water-released minerals. Ongoing work will further test the remaining three Anabaena strains as nutrient sources for fungal growth, as well as assess citric acid production in relevant experimental media conditions. Subsequently, relevant experiments will be reproduced under simulated altered gravity or microgravity. Ultimately, these results will reinforce the potential of fungal-cyanobacterial systems as a basis for BLSS in future space missions.