Engineered yeast material offers possible low-energy route to Mars construction
Researchers from Hong Kong say a composite made with engineered yeast, gelatin and sand can be 3D printed under simulated Martian conditions. The material reached compressive strength of about 12 megapascals, but the team describes it as a structural component rather than a complete habitat and says it still needs supplies from Earth.
Scientists in Hong Kong have developed a biological building material that could reduce the energy and equipment needed to construct structures on Mars, according to a study published in Chem Circularity. The material combines sand or other granular particles with a gelatin hydrogel and genetically engineered yeast. The yeast was modified to display adhesive proteins, including proteins inspired by those found in mussel feet, helping bind the cells, gelatin and aggregate particles.
The researchers said an optimised formulation reached compressive strength of about 12 megapascals. That was about 170 per cent higher than the control formulation and within the range of conventional building materials. The material hardens during freeze-drying.
Under low pressure, water changes phase and leaves a porous gelatin scaffold containing yeast cells. The researchers said the engineered yeast helped produce a more uniform pore structure and strengthened the composite. They 3D-printed a small beacon-like structure in an environmental chamber set to 0.01 atmospheres and minus 30 degrees Celsius.
The structure was 45 millimetres high and 30 millimetres in diameter. The team estimated that producing a cubic metre of the material would require less than an hour of solar-panel operation, compared with several days to sinter the same volume of Martian soil into a solid block. Crushed material could also be rehydrated and gently heated for reuse; fourth-generation samples retained compressive strength of about 11.8 megapascals.
The process still depends on Earth-supplied gelatin and yeast nutrients. Professor Qiu Jishen said tens of kilograms of raw materials would be needed per cubic metre, though locally produced ingredients could eventually reduce that requirement. The team is also considering applications in remote Antarctic research stations, while acknowledging that the material is not yet a complete habitat.
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