Microbes could be put to use in future human space settlements extracting metals and rare elements from rocks, according to a researcher who designed the world’s first mining experiment in space.
“You can think of microbes as miniature miners, if you like, going into rocks and getting all that good stuff that we need to build a civilization,” said Professor Charles Cockell, an astrobiologist from the University of Edinburgh.
If humans are ever going to settle in space or on other planets, they’ll likely need to find ways to efficiently find and harvest resources in alien environments. Mining will be a key technology in that effort.
Cockell told Quirks & Quarks host Bob McDonald that microbes are currently used on Earth to extract materials of value from rock
“If those rocks happen to contain gold or copper, then we can use the microbes to break down those materials,” he said.
That straightforward result was very exciting because that was the first demonstration of mining beyond the earth.– Prof. Charles Cockell, University of Edinburgh
Human miners crush the rocks and add liquid — usually water — to activate microbes dormant in the ore.
The microbes then use chemical processes to break down rocks — essentially digesting them — to access nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen. Valuable metals and minerals can be a bacterial waste product.
“The leachate, which is the liquid that comes out of the rocks, contains the elements that you want to get hold of,” added Cockell. Those elements can then be easily extracted from the leachate for use.
On Earth, mining companies use bacteria to extract about 20 per cent of the world’s copper and five per cent of our planet’s gold.
Potential complicating factors in low gravity
Cockell wanted to see whether microbes would do the same job in space. In 2019 he was able to send an experiment to the International Space Station to test this. He just published the results of his study in the journal Nature Communications.
The issue he was particularly concerned with was whether the micro-gravity environment of the space station would cause the microbial cells to behave any differently in processing minerals in space than they do on Earth.
Artist’s impression of habitats on Mars. Colonies on Mars could be supported by bacterial mining facilities. (AI SpaceFactory)
His concern in particular was whether the lack of gravity would mean the bacterial cells couldn’t move to the right places in the rock and water slurry, or if it would disrupt the normal circulation processes that on Earth cause mixing of fluids around the rock particles, which allows the microbes to access them. Whether the rock-eating microbes would thrive and reproduce in space was also an issue.
“Many people have shown that gravity does affect microbial growth in space,” said Cockell. “So we were simply testing whether Martian gravity and micro-gravity, for example, and asteroids would change the way in which bio-mining occurred.”
Mining experiment aboard the ISS
In their space station experiment they tested three different bacterial species in different gravity conditions to mimic gravity on an asteroid or on Mars.
“We spent several years designing a miniature biomining reactor. And this is essentially a small piece of kit in which you put your pieces of rock, in our case, basalt and your dried microbes,” described Cockell.
The basalt rock they used in the experiment is similar to what’s found on the moon or Mars.
Italian astronaut, Luca Parmitano, put the biomining reactor into a miniature centrifuge that spun the samples around to simulate different gravity conditions.
The microbes were then left to grow and feed for 21 days. Samples were then flown back to Earth for analysis.
Image of Sphingomonas desiccabilis, the bacterium that was shown to biologically mine rare earth elements, growing on basalt rock. (Rosa Santomartino)
One of the bacterial species they tested is called Sphingomonas desiccabilis, and naturally lives in salt and rock crusts in deserts. Cockell said it “did successfully extract rare earth elements out of the rock.”
“That straightforward result was very exciting because that was the first demonstration of mining beyond the earth.”
He said what was even more interesting though, was how the microbes managed to overcome the problem of different gravity conditions — perhaps by changing their rate of growth — to eventually reach the same concentration of bacterial cells in the reduced gravity conditions as in the Earth’s gravity.
“What our experiment suggests is that you can do biomining on asteroids or Mars, just as you can do on the Earth,” he said. “These different gravity effects should not change our ability to do biomining.”
A step toward self-sustainability in space
Cockell said he envisions settlements on the moon or Mars, or bases on an asteroid, and nearby, there could be a giant processing facility where microbes could be used to help break down rocks to extract desirable elements.
One concern with this technology, however, would be potential bacterial contamination of places like Mars where scientists are searching for signs of Indigenous life.
“There’s clearly a trade off there. And there’s clearly a discussion to be had about whether you want to use biomining or other types of mining,” said Cockell who added there is a lot more research to do before we reach that point.
He has another experiment called “BioAsteroid,” which is scheduled to fly in a few weeks time. in which astronauts will conduct the same biomining experiment, but using a crushed up meteorite instead of Mars-like rock.
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The body of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei — who died after being set on fire by her partner in Kenya — was received Friday by family and anti-femicide crusaders, ahead of her burial a day later.
Cheptegei’s family met with dozens of activists Friday who had marched to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital’s morgue in the western city of Eldoret while chanting anti-femicide slogans.
She is the fourth female athlete to have been killed by her partner in Kenya in yet another case of gender-based violence in recent years.
Viola Cheptoo, the founder of Tirop Angels – an organization that was formed in honor of athlete Agnes Tirop, who was stabbed to death in 2021, said stakeholders need to ensure this is the last death of an athlete due to gender-based violence.
“We are here to say that enough is enough, we are tired of burying our sisters due to GBV,” she said.
It was a somber mood at the morgue as athletes and family members viewed Cheptegei’s body which sustained 80% of burns after she was doused with gasoline by her partner Dickson Ndiema. Ndiema sustained 30% burns on his body and later succumbed.
Ndiema and Cheptegei were said to have quarreled over a piece of land that the athlete bought in Kenya, according to a report filed by the local chief.
Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics less than a month before the attack. She finished in 44th place.
Cheptegei’s father, Joseph, said that the body will make a brief stop at their home in the Endebess area before proceeding to Bukwo in eastern Uganda for a night vigil and burial on Saturday.
“We are in the final part of giving my daughter the last respect,” a visibly distraught Joseph said.
He told reporters last week that Ndiema was stalking and threatening Cheptegei and the family had informed police.
Four in 10 women or an estimated 41% of dating or married Kenyan women have experienced physical or sexual violence perpetrated by their current or most recent partner, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rare Bronze-Era jar accidentally smashed by a 4-year-old visiting a museum was back on display Wednesday after restoration experts were able to carefully piece the artifact back together.
Last month, a family from northern Israel was visiting the museum when their youngest son tipped over the jar, which smashed into pieces.
Alex Geller, the boy’s father, said his son — the youngest of three — is exceptionally curious, and that the moment he heard the crash, “please let that not be my child” was the first thought that raced through his head.
The jar has been on display at the Hecht Museum in Haifa for 35 years. It was one of the only containers of its size and from that period still complete when it was discovered.
The Bronze Age jar is one of many artifacts exhibited out in the open, part of the Hecht Museum’s vision of letting visitors explore history without glass barriers, said Inbal Rivlin, the director of the museum, which is associated with Haifa University in northern Israel.
It was likely used to hold wine or oil, and dates back to between 2200 and 1500 B.C.
Rivlin and the museum decided to turn the moment, which captured international attention, into a teaching moment, inviting the Geller family back for a special visit and hands-on activity to illustrate the restoration process.
Rivlin added that the incident provided a welcome distraction from the ongoing war in Gaza. “Well, he’s just a kid. So I think that somehow it touches the heart of the people in Israel and around the world,“ said Rivlin.
Roee Shafir, a restoration expert at the museum, said the repairs would be fairly simple, as the pieces were from a single, complete jar. Archaeologists often face the more daunting task of sifting through piles of shards from multiple objects and trying to piece them together.
Experts used 3D technology, hi-resolution videos, and special glue to painstakingly reconstruct the large jar.
Less than two weeks after it broke, the jar went back on display at the museum. The gluing process left small hairline cracks, and a few pieces are missing, but the jar’s impressive size remains.
The only noticeable difference in the exhibit was a new sign reading “please don’t touch.”
VICTORIA – The British Columbia government is partnering with a bear welfare group to reduce the number of bears being euthanized in the province.
Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of Grizzly Bear Foundation, said Monday that it comes after months-long discussions with the province on how to protect bears, with the goal to give the animals a “better and second chance at life in the wild.”
Scapillati said what’s exciting about the project is that the government is open to working with outside experts and the public.
“So, they’ll be working through Indigenous knowledge and scientific understanding, bringing in the latest techniques and training expertise from leading experts,” he said in an interview.
B.C. government data show conservation officers destroyed 603 black bears and 23 grizzly bears in 2023, while 154 black bears were killed by officers in the first six months of this year.
Scapillati said the group will publish a report with recommendations by next spring, while an independent oversight committee will be set up to review all bear encounters with conservation officers to provide advice to the government.
Environment Minister George Heyman said in a statement that they are looking for new ways to ensure conservation officers “have the trust of the communities they serve,” and the panel will make recommendations to enhance officer training and improve policies.
Lesley Fox, with the wildlife protection group The Fur-Bearers, said they’ve been calling for such a committee for decades.
“This move demonstrates the government is listening,” said Fox. “I suspect, because of the impending election, their listening skills are potentially a little sharper than they normally are.”
Fox said the partnership came from “a place of long frustration” as provincial conservation officers kill more than 500 black bears every year on average, and the public is “no longer tolerating this kind of approach.”
“I think that the conservation officer service and the B.C. government are aware they need to change, and certainly the public has been asking for it,” said Fox.
Fox said there’s a lot of optimism about the new partnership, but, as with any government, there will likely be a lot of red tape to get through.
“I think speed is going to be important, whether or not the committee has the ability to make change and make change relatively quickly without having to study an issue to death, ” said Fox.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.
