Building blocks previously made by researcher Lynn Rothschild from mold.
Image: NASA
Finding mold in your home is a nightmare for many. But NASA thinks very differently. In fact, the space agency is spending a lot of money researching homes made of fungi.
It sounds like a scene from a bad sci-fi movie, but nothing could be further from the truth. If NASA achieves its goal, we will build houses out of mold. The US space agency recently allocated $2 million to research these “fungal homes.”
By the way, don’t worry that our homes here on Earth will all be made of mold in the future. The point is that fungal homes will initially rise on the Moon or Mars when people start living and working here in the future.
Launching bricks into space is not an option.
But why then do we make houses? In any case, it is a real solution for builders who will build houses on other planets in the future. Launching bricks and mortar into space isn’t really an option. The building materials we know here on Earth are heavy, meaning that launching them requires a lot of fuel (and therefore money). That’s why scientists have now decided to experiment with building blocks of fungi.
This mycelium, or underground wire mesh, grows in a frame or mould. On the ground, the tires are filled with inactive fungi. They are then transported to the Moon, and the astronauts there just have to open them and give them a little water. This causes the fungus to become active again and start growing around the tire.
To prevent all this fungus from taking over completely, it is heated as soon as it grows. This not only kills the fungus, but also strengthens the material it is made of, namely its wire mesh.
Chairs and building blocks made from mold
The research is led by evolutionary biologist Lynn Rothschild. She has previously made furniture and building blocks for NASA made largely of fungi. NASA is very excited about this. project The organization will allocate another $2 million for further research. “We are preparing to go deeper into the universe than ever before, and that requires new science and technology that doesn’t exist yet,” said NASA CEO Bill Nelson.
For now, the mushroom houses are only for future astronauts, but Rothschild and her colleagues hope their work will eventually be applied on Earth. Our current construction methods produce a lot of greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, the demand for affordable housing is expected to increase in the future.
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