What these astronauts can pack are Earth’s unique renewable resource: cells. Cells of fungi and bacteria, for example, can be reprogrammed with synthetic DNA to produce specific materials, like bioplastics. These materials can then be fed into 3-D printers to manufacture things the astronauts may need during spaceflight — everything from hardware and medical devices to medicine and food.
In an opinion piece published online in Trends in Biotechnology, researchers from the Universities Space Research Association (USRA), MIT Lincoln Laboratory, and NASA outline ways that synthetic biology and 3-D printing can support life during deep-space human missions. But to make these ideas a reality, NASA is seeking help.
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