Some mining operations on Earth use microbes to help. For example, some microbes "eat" copper, uranium, and gold ores. Other kinds of microbes remove poisons used in mining operations.
Space scientists are trying this concept for future planetary missions.
An experiment heading for ISS is called "BioRocks." It will see how microbes interact with rocks in a low-gravity environment. This might help us mine the moon and Mars. If microbes can do some of the work, we'll need less equipment.
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From NASA: "Sphingomonas desiccabilis, one of three microbes chosen for
the BioRock experiment, seen growing on basalt. Run by a research team from
the University of Edinburgh in the UK, BioRock tests how altered states
of gravity affect biofilm formation on the International Space Station.
Credits: UK Centre for Astrobiology/University of Edinburgh"
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More info:
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7566
If you had a microbe that could eat anything, what would you want it to eat? Contact me at
RamoneRocketeer -at- gmail -dot- com.
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