Dr Weronika Urbańska, from the Faculty of Environmental Engineering at Wrocław University of Technology, is a member of a team of researchers working on recovering metals from space resources. 

For upcoming lunar exploration missions and future expeditions to Mars, there are plans to establish research stations on the Moon. However, to build them, it will be necessary to use raw materials on site – transporting them from Earth is basically not feasible.

The extraction of minerals from lunar and Martian regolith could be crucial for exploration and research on these celestial bodies. Extremophilic (tolerant of extreme environmental conditions) microorganisms such as volcanic microalgae, bacteria or fungi could be used for this.

The ease of transport is also in favour of their use in space missions. Only a small amount is needed to start the whole process. This is of great importance for cargo on board space rockets.

Read more: https://pwr.edu.pl/uczelnia/aktualnosci/jak-odzyskac-metale-z-zasobow-kosmicznych-12967.html