NASA is seriously considering mushroom houses for space colonies on the surface of the Moon and eventually Mars.
The space agency awarded $2 million to a research group at NASA’s Ames Research Center to study and develop the concept of “mycotecture.” The reason NASA is investigating the use of fungi is the extremely high cost of launching traditional building materials into space.
Sending fungal spores and mixing them with “local” lunar materials such as water and regolith to create bricks would be much cheaper, according to Cleveland, Ohio-based architect Chris Maurer, who discussed his partnership with GODMOTHER.
Mushroom houses could be the homes of astronauts on the moon
Promising research by NASA has shown that these mushroom building blocks can deflect most space radiation, provide insulation against extreme temperatures, and can be grown very quickly in one to two months, making it a futuristic and highly efficient alternative to conventional materials.
from the Moon could be built starting with a special package that lands on our natural satellite, containing a sink and other essentials for living. The interior of the package would swell, while a mixture of fungal spores, water and algae would grow an outer shell that would eventually harden, forming a new habitable structure.
Uncertainties about this solution
Although they were successful on Earth, unforeseen complications could arise in space.
The fungus research group, led by NASA Ames principal investigator Lynn Rothschild, plans to send a conceptual model of mycotecture structures into space as part of the planned 2028 launch of a commercial space station called Starlab.
“In general, there are technological risks. Will the structure be strong enough? Will it really provide the insulation we anticipate? What will they be? Is it really going to grow well?” Rothschild said.
If all goes according to plan, future colonies on the Moon and Mars will spring up like mushrooms after the rain.
