BioRock: new experiments and hardware to investigate microbe–mineral interactions in space

Claire-Marie Loudon, Natasha Nicholson, Kai Finster, Natalie Leys, Bo Byloos, Rob Van Houdt, Petra Rettberg, Ralf Moeller, Felix Fuchs, René Demets, Jutta Krause, Marco Vukich, Alessandro Mariani, Charles Cockell

Research outputpeer-review

Abstract

In this paper, we describe the development of an International Space Station experiment, BioRock. The purpose of this experiment is to investigate biofilm formation and microbe–mineral interactions in space. The latter research has application in areas as diverse as regolith amelioration and extraterrestrial mining. We describe the design of a prototype biomining reactor for use in space experimentation and investigations on in situ Resource Use and we describe the results of pre-flight tests.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)303-313
Number of pages11
JournalInternational Journal of Astrobiology
Volume17
Issue number4
Early online date24 Jul 2017
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Oct 2018

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