About Our Project

From the Moon to Mars: A New Frontier in Sustainable Space Biology

July 21st, 1969: Neil Armstrong becomes the first man to ever set foot on the Moon, paving the way for a new era of space exploration

"Not IF, but WHEN"

Over 50 years later, humanity looks toward a new frontier: Mars.

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Since 1964, multiple government agencies and private companies have invested billions of dollars in Mars missions

However, there are many challenges that stand in the way of Mars exploration

The Payload Problem

  • To bring 1lb of materials from Earth to Mars: ~$1 million
  • Launch Costs: $61 million
  • One-way trip from Earth → Mars: 8-9 months
  • Mars → Earth: 3 years

This means that resources must be either pre-delivered or made on-site. Even simple polymers could become high-value materials in the early stages of colonization.

Bioplastics and Earth's Push for Sustainability

Back on Earth, efforts are underway to move away from petroleum-based plastics and toward carbon-negative bioplastics, where polymers are renewable and biodegradable

2 Promising Candidates:

  • Copolymers Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) & Polyhydroxyvalerate (PHV)
  • Biodegradable and lightweight
  • Together known as PHBV

These plastics can be easily produced by genetically modifying microbes, which has proven difficult to work with given our limited resources

Our Solution

Introducing PHAntom- PHA Novel Tools for Off-world Manufacturing

Our Objectives: Genetically enginner E. colito

  • Produce PHBV
  • Fixate CO2
  • Generate acetate, a byproduct of PHBV production

Implementation:

  • Engineering E. coli to function under CO₂-rich conditions
  • Can be used as an in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) platform that can transform Martian air into essential, usable materials
  • The properties of PHBV make the polymer ideal for space applications
  • Can be incorporated into 3D printing systems to generate tools, infrastructure, and other essential resources directly on-site without the need for resupply from Earth
  • This can reduce the number of trips between Earth and Mars, which in turns reduces payload cost
  • Acetate has proven promising in terms of farming the Mars regolith
  • Optimizing plant growth
  • Natural pH buffer
  • Mobilizes minerals for plant growth
  • Can be incorporated in biofertilizer systems

PHAntom is more than just a biomanufacturing platform; it represents a vision for sustainable space colonization. By merging cutting-edge advances in synthetic biology with the constraints and opportunities of Mars, we offer a scalable, modular solution to create materials using nothing but microbes and the Martian atmosphere — turning the dream of off-world living into a biological reality.

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