Abstract
Bioregenerative life support systems (BLSS) are conceived of and developed so as to provide food sources for crewed missions to the Moon or Mars. Thein situresource utilization (ISRU) approach aims to reduce terrestrial input into a BLSS by using native regoliths and recycled organic waste as primary resources. The combination of BLSS and ISRU may allow sustainable food production on Moon and Mars. This task poses several challenges, including the effects of partial gravity, the limited availability of oxygen and water, and the self-sustaining management of resources. Lunar and Martian regoliths are not available on Earth; therefore, space research studies are conducted on regolith simulants that replicate the physicochemical properties of extra-terrestrial regoliths (as assessedin situby previous missions). This review provides an overview of the physicochemical properties and mineralogical composition of commercially available Lunar and Martian regolith simulants. Subsequently, it describes potential strategies and sustainable practices for creating regolith simulants akin to terrestrial soil, which is a highly dynamic environment where microbiota and humified organic matter interact with the mineral moiety. These strategies include the amendment of simulants with composted organic wastes, which can turn nutrient-poor and alkaline crushed rocks into efficient life-sustaining substrates equipped with enhanced physical, hydraulic, and chemical properties. In this regard, we provide a comprehensive analysis of recent scientific works focusing on the exploitation of regolith simulant-based substrates as plant growth media. The literature discussion helps identify the main critical aspects and future challenges related to sustainable space farming by thein situuse and enhancement of Lunar and Martian resources.
Highlights
Current scientific inventions and technological advancements may allow space travel and, in the far future, the development of bioregenerative life support systems (BLSS) on other celestial bodies (Zubrin and Wagner, 2011; NASA, 2018)
This review provides an overview of the petrographic/ mineralogical compositions and bulk chemistry of Lunar and Martian regolith simulants developed over the last 3–4 decades, which are mostly available for research purposes
A good knowledge of the physicochemical and hydraulic properties of Lunar and Martian regolith simulants is of paramount importance in developing and building off-world Bioregenerative life support systems (BLSS) based on an in situ resource utilization (ISRU) approach, in which native substrates are exploited as plant growth media
Summary
Current scientific inventions and technological advancements may allow space travel and, in the far future, the development of bioregenerative life support systems (BLSS) on other celestial bodies (Zubrin and Wagner, 2011; NASA, 2018). Space farming based on local resource exploitation (Maggi and Pallud, 2010; Ramírez et al, 2019) is a promising strategy for food production (Ming and Henninger, 1989) on extra-terrestrial habitats, as it can allow water recycling, organic waste composting, and oxygen production or CO2 consumption (Verseux et al, 2016; Llorente et al, 2018) This would reduce the launch mass from Earth and the waste generated by human settlement (food cost-cutting). Plant growth, morphology, and physiology on the Moon or other planets are expected to be greatly affected by the sterile and nutrient-poor nature of extra-terrestrial soil and the different gravitational and climatic conditions These regolith simulants, not sterile, may play an essential role in improving our understanding of the environmental phenomena on the Moon and Mars.
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