Nature Communications (Oct 2021)
Designing the bioproduction of Martian rocket propellant via a biotechnology-enabled in situ resource utilization strategy
Abstract
Returning from Mars to Earth requires propellant. The authors propose a biotechnology-enabled in situ resource utilization (bioISRU) process to produce a Mars specific rocket propellant, 2,3-butanediol, using cyanobacteria and engineered E. coli, with lower payload mass and energy usage compared to chemical ISRU strategies.