Imagine a long-term, manned mission into space: Astronauts moving about in artificial gravity, conducting research and sending signals back to Earth while they probe farther away. Maybe they land on the moon or Mars, or perhaps they sail past countless planets, stars and asteroids. When the astronauts get hungry, there’s freeze-dried food, of course — but carrying enough to feed an entire crew for multiple years would take up a lot of space. Some missions have had success growing plants in water, a method called hydroponics, but that requires a continuous resupply of nutrients from Earth.
So, scientists began thinking: What if we made soil in space?
That’s where fungi comes in. UCLA administrator Jane Shevtsov has teamed up with NASA scientists and researchers at the mushroom company Fungi Perfecti to explore how fungi could help turn asteroids into soil. The idea initially came to Shevtsov while she watched a ...
