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Mars buildings could be built using components made from bacteria

A view of Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Published

6 years ago

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Bacteria could be useful construction tools when it comes to building cities on Mars.

Elon Musk recently detailed his plans for establishing a city on Mars. But before we take up residence on the red planet, we’re going to need some help laying the groundwork. Here’s where bacteria come in.

A special group of microorganisms, called Shewanella oneidensis, would make excellent helpers, says Benjamin Lehner, a doctoral candidate at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.

Shewanella belongs to a group of bacterium called exoelectrogens, which possess an unusual skill: They can produce electricity. But that’s not all. Lehner says the bacterium can also mine iron out of the Martian soil.

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In 2018, NASA sent a batch of these helpful bacterium to the space station to see how well they thrive in space. Now Lehner wants to send them on to Mars, ahead of human explorers.

“In its natural form, we can’t use much of the iron in the Martian soil,” Lehner said in a statement. “But S. oneidensis has the ability to turn part of the soil into magnetite, a magnetic oxide of iron.”

That iron would then be used as building materials for future structures on Mars.

A glimpse of AI SpaceFactory’s MARSHA Mars habitat. Bacteria could be used to create building materials for future habitats like this one. Credit: AI SpaceFactory & PLOMP

So how would it work? Lehner says that three things should sent to Mars ahead of any human expeditions:  a rover, a bioreactor and a 3D printer. The rover would fetch batches of Martian soil, called regolith, then feed it into the bioreactor.

The Martian soil is rich in iron and the S. oneidensis loves to munch on iron, so it would be waiting in the bioreactor, ready to chow down.

The bacteria would then produce magnetite as a byproduct from the regolith. The magnetite would then be extracted and separated from the rest of the soil with magnets. Finally, the 3D printer would turn this raw metal material into a host of valuable parts for humans.

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Bacteria can be used to extract iron from the Martian soil that can be used as building materials. Credit: ESA–G. Porter, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO / Lithoz

The printer could create any part necessary—screws, nuts, bolts—for building structures (including human habitats) on Mars.

So how much iron could these microbes realistically produce? Leher and his team estimate they could have a substantial amount in a few year’s time.

According to the researchers, a 370-gallon (1,400-liter) reactor could yield about 770-lbs. (350 kilograms) of the material each year. “After 3.3 years, it would produce more iron than can fit inside the capsule,” he explained. “By sending several of these unmanned modules to Mars, we can produce a good amount of iron in a few years’ time.”

Lehrer and his team propose using bacteria to mine mangenite from the Martian regolith. Credit: ESA–G. Porter, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO / Lithoz

Bacteria are advantageous because they’re self-replicating, can withstand the harsh radiation on Mars, and are cheap to transport. They only need one thing: food.

To that end, Lehner suggests sending microalgae along with the bacteria. These organisms live off of sunlight and CO2, two things that are plentiful on Mars. The microalgae will turn those ingredients into nutrients and oxygen, perfect for the bacteria.

How the process would work. Credit: ESA

But what if some rogue bacteria make their way out of the reactor? Would we then contaminate Mars with Earth microbes? What does this mean for the search for life?

“We want to prevent our bacteria from contaminating the planet, since that could hinder the search for life on Mars,” Lehner said. To mitigate any chances of contamination, Lehner’s team says that the bioreactor and any iron material produced needs to be safely contained.

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Elon Musk

SpaceX aces Starship’s 11th launch with success in every mission objective

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1 week ago

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October 14, 2025

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Credit: SpaceX

SpaceX aces its eleventh Starship test launch on Monday evening, marking the company’s second consecutive takeoff that crossed off each of the planned mission objectives.

It was also the final launch of the V2 Starship rocket. The twelfth test flight will feature the larger V3 Starship rocket, followed by V4, which will eventually make the first trip to Mars.

The launch was overwhelmingly successful. In its 12th test flight, SpaceX was able to achieve every major mission objective, including the second successful deployment of Starlink satellite simulators and the relight of a Raptor engine while in space. The latter achievement demonstrated “a critical capability for future deorbit burns,” the company said.

The ship officially launched at 6:23 p.m. local time in Starbase, Texas, with all 33 engines igniting and sending the Ship to space.

Stage separation occurred just over eight minutes later, and Super Heavy started its descent back to the Gulf of America, where it successfully splashed down. The first part of the launch was complete.

Starlink simulators were deployed about twenty-one minutes after launch, as the Pez dispenser sent the faux-satellites out to space without any issue:

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Perhaps the most anticipated part of the launch was with Starship’s banking maneuver and subsequent splashdown in the Indian Ocean.

Prior to Starship 11’s launch and successful re-entry and splashdown, SpaceX had lost a few vehicles during this portion of the previous flights.

However, the company had made tremendous improvements and has now aced two consecutive launches. On Monday, its approach and splashdown were both overwhelmingly successful:

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The re-entry phase of this particular Starship launch aimed to gather data on the performance of the heatshield, SpaceX said. The heatshield was intentionally stressed to its limits to determine how much it could withstand without failing.

SpaceX will now turn its focus to the next vehicles, including V3, which is larger, more capable, and will help the company gather even more information about its launches into space:

CEO Elon Musk has said the third-generation Starship rocket will be built and tested by the end of the year.

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Elon Musk

Elon Musk reveals when SpaceX will perform first-ever Starship catch

“Starship catch is probably flight 13 to 15, depending on how well V3 flights go,” Musk said.

Published

2 months ago

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August 28, 2025

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Credit: SpaceX

Elon Musk revealed when SpaceX would perform the first-ever catch attempt of Starship, its massive rocket that will one day take life to other planets.

On Tuesday, Starship aced its tenth test flight as SpaceX was able to complete each of its mission objectives, including a splashdown of the Super Heavy Booster in the Gulf, the deployment of eight Starlink simulators, and another splashdown of the ship in the Indian Ocean.

It was the first launch that featured a payload deployment:

SpaceX Starship Flight 10 was so successful, it’s breaking the anti-Musk narrative

SpaceX was transparent that it would not attempt to catch the Super Heavy Booster, something it has done on three previous occasions: Flight 5 on October 13, 2024, Flight 7 on January 16, and Flight 8 on March 6.

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This time, it was not attempting to do so. However, there are bigger plans for the future, and Musk detailed them in a recent post on X, where he discussed SpaceX’s plans to catch Starship, which would be a monumental accomplishment.

Musk said the most likely opportunities for SpaceX to catch Starship itself would be Flight 13, Flight 14, and Flight 15, but it depends on “how well the V3 flights go.”

The Starship launched with Flight 10 was a V2, which is the same size as the subsequent V3 rocket but has a smaller payload-to-orbit rating and is less powerful in terms of initial thrust and booster thrust. Musk said there is only one more V2 rocket left to launch.

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V3 will be the version flown through 2026, as V4, which will be the most capable Starship build SpaceX manufactures, is likely to be the first company ship to carry humans to space.

Musk said that SpaceX planned to “hopefully” attempt a catch of Starship in 2025. However, it appears that this will likely be pushed back to 2026 due to timing.

SpaceX will take Starship catch one step further very soon, Elon Musk confirms

SpaceX would need to launch the 11th and 12th test flights by the end of the year in order to get to Musk’s expected first catch attempt of Flight 13. It’s not unheard of, but the company will need to accelerate its launch rate as it has only had three test flights this year.

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SpaceX aces Starship test flight 10 with successful payload deployment

The mission began at 6:30 p.m. local time in Starbase, Texas, when the launch of Starship initiated. After about eight minutes, stage separation was completed, and the Super Heavy Booster headed back down to Earth for a planned splashdown in the Indian Ocean:

Published

2 months ago

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August 26, 2025

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Credit: SpaceX

SpaceX aced its tenth Starship test flight on Tuesday night after multiple delays pushed the mission back to this evening. Originally scheduled for Sunday night, SpaceX had two delays push the flight back to Tuesday, which ultimately provided ideal conditions for a launch attempt.

The tenth test flight of Starship had several objectives, including a successful splashdown of the booster in the Gulf of America, the deployment of eight Starlink simulation modules from the PEZ dispenser, and a splashdown of the ship in the Indian Ocean.

SpaceX Starship Flight 10: What to expect

SpaceX successfully achieved all three of these objectives, making it one of the most successful test flights in the Starship program. There was no attempt to catch the booster this evening, as the company had been transparent about it ahead of the launch.

The mission began at 6:30 p.m. local time in Starbase, Texas, when the launch of Starship initiated. After about eight minutes, stage separation was completed, and the Super Heavy Booster headed back down to Earth for a planned splashdown in the Indian Ocean:

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Starship was then the main focus of the rest of the broadcast as it completed its ascent burn and coasted through space, providing viewers with spectacular views as the mission headed toward new territory, including the deployment of Starlink simulators. This would be the first time SpaceX would attempt a payload deployment.

The deployment works like a PEZ dispenser, as the simulators were stacked on top of one another and would exit through a small slit one at a time.

This occurred roughly 20 minutes into the mission:

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An hour and six minutes into the flight, Starship reached its final destination, which was the Indian Ocean. A successful splashdown would bring closure to Starship’s tenth test flight, marking the fifth time a test flight in the program’s history did not end with vehicle loss.

It was also the first of four test flights this year that will end with Starship being recovered.

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SpaceX is expected to launch Starship again in approximately eight weeks, pending the collection of data and other key metrics from this flight.

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