NASA builds mushroom houses on the moon for space exploration

Jakarta (Lampost.co) – Space exploration has always had incredible costs and risks. NASA developing an innovative solution in the form of a house structure made of mushrooms that has the potential to be useful on the Moon and Mars.

According to recent reports, it costs about 1 million dollars per half kilogram of material to send to the Moon and the cost is higher for Mars. For this reason, NASA is now aiming to use local resources such as regolith (lunar dust) and water ice on the Moon to create more efficient building materials.

Chris Maurer, founder of Redhouse, an architectural firm that collaborates with NASA, explained the concept of InSitu Resource Utilization (ISRU) in the form of using local resources in space for construction.

Fungi can use the smallest resources on the Moon to grow into materials stronger than concrete. Therefore, it offers several advantages including radiation protection and thermal insulation.

The Mycotecture Off Planet Structures project is reaching an advanced stage of development at NASA to create space habitats that can grow directly on site. Mushrooms have the advantage of being fast growing, cost effective, and able to withstand extreme conditions on the Moon and Mars.

Maurer explained that the style of construction on the Moon is further out. This is because the pressure from the air inside the building means that the material must have good tensile strength, not compressive strength.

In addition to its structural strength, mushrooms have advantages in protecting against radiation. Melanin in mushrooms is able to absorb harmful electromagnetic radiation, reducing the effects of particle radiation that can damage cells and DNA.

Because, with only 8 cm of fungal cover, the structure can prevent more than 99% of the harmful radiation from 3 meters of regolith to achieve equal protection.

Testing the Moon and Mars

The process of fungal growth begins by mixing fungal spores and algae into water from ice on the Moon.

The structure is expected to form within 3060 days. The first model will be tested on Starlab, a new space station that will be launched in 2028. It is also hoped that further tests will be carried out on the Moon in the next ten years.