A Review of Environmental Challenges Facing Martian Colonisation and the Potential for Terrestrial Microbes to Transform a Toxic Extraterrestrial Environment

Challenges Pub Date : 2024-01-12 DOI:10.3390/challe15010005
Daniel Keaney, Brigid Lucey, K. Finn
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Abstract

Mars is a focus of New Space Age exploration and colonisation, but there are significant challenges to successful colonisation by humankind. Environmental microbes play a key role in supporting the ecosystems of Earth, especially within the biodegradation and bioremediation sectors. However, the repurposed roles of microbes on Mars and their associated uses to colonists remain incompletely defined. The aim of this review was to examine the key roles of microbes on Earth and how they have been employed by humans to tackle four pivotal environmental challenges associated with the colonisation of Mars, namely the physical environment, the creation of a hospitable environment via terraforming, environmental sustainability and life support, and finally, renewable processing technologies. Some species of microbes were found to be tolerant of the ever-changing physical environment on Mars (freeze–thaw and UVC exposure) making them useful for bioremediation applications. Employing perchlorate-remediating microbes for their ability to bioremediate the soils of sodium perchlorate, which is present in Martian soils, in addition to their innate ability to cycle nutrients through the biosphere showed promise in establishing sustained crops to support colonists. The employment of terrestrial environmental microbes is a necessary part of overcoming key environmental challenges to successfully colonise Mars. Without this, future New Space exploration is unlikely to be successful.
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回顾火星殖民面临的环境挑战以及地球微生物改造有毒地外环境的潜力
火星是新太空时代探索和殖民的重点,但人类成功殖民火星面临着重大挑战。环境微生物在支持地球生态系统方面发挥着关键作用,特别是在生物降解和生物修复领域。然而,微生物在火星上的再利用作用及其对殖民者的相关用途仍未完全明确。本综述旨在研究微生物在地球上的关键作用,以及人类如何利用它们来应对与火星殖民有关的四个关键环境挑战,即物理环境、通过地形改造创造适宜的环境、环境可持续性和生命支持,以及最后的可再生加工技术。研究发现,某些种类的微生物对火星上不断变化的物理环境(冻融和紫外线照射)具有耐受性,因此可用于生物修复。利用高氯酸盐修复微生物对火星土壤中存在的高氯酸钠进行生物修复的能力,以及通过生物圈循环养分的内在能力,显示了建立可持续作物以支持殖民者的前景。利用陆地环境微生物是克服关键环境挑战以成功殖民火星的必要组成部分。否则,未来的新太空探索就不可能取得成功。
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