Humanity is entering the new space age. In 2024 alone, agencies around the globe launched 263 rockets [1], a rise of 83 percent compared to the 144 launches only three years ago in 2021. Meanwhile, the number of active satellites and large debris objects orbiting Earth surged to 11,400+ in 2024, up from ~7,800 in 2021, posing a growing threat space operations [2].
In space, both structures and astronauts face application challenges:
For spacecraft and habitats: airtight repair of cabin breaches, sealing minute fractures from micro-meteoroid impacts, and maintaining integrity under extreme thermal cycling.
For astronauts: radiation shielding, rapid closure of external wounds, and emergency repair of space suit tears.
Meeting these demands requires materials with very specific properties:
Without such materials, both mission success and astronaut survival can be critically compromised. These challenges may appear minor in scale, but in deep space, they are often decisive for survival.
Beyond performance, there is also the question of production. On Earth, forming hydrogels and adhesives is routine. Common materials such as polyvinyl alcohol, glycerol, carrageenan, resins, and polyurethanes are widely available industrial products — but all are ultimately dependent on petrochemical feedstocks. In contrast, on the Moon, Mars, or more distant planetary bodies, petroleum resources are entirely absent, and the synthesis of even a small quantity of resin is not feasible.
Space exploration cannot rely indefinitely on Earth-based supply chains. To be viable for long-term missions, new materials must be:
Thus, the central challenge emerges: how can we design adhesive, biocompatible, and strong materials that can be produced sustainably and on-demand in space, without relying on Earth's fossil resources or heavy supply chains?
We aim to employ the synthetic biology "microbial factory" approach where engineered E. coli can biosynthesize proteins capable of rapidly forming hydrogels with strong adhesive properties. This strategy requires neither petroleum-derived feedstocks nor extensive Earth-based supply chains; the presence of a simple carbohydrate source is sufficient for in situ production to provide materials essential for mission operations.
Nature already provides powerful examples of materials with strength, resilience, and stickiness: Hagfish slime proteins — when attacked, hagfish instantly release thread-like proteins that expand into a protective hydrogel. Mussel foot proteins (MFPs) — mussels secrete specialized adhesive proteins that allow them to stick firmly to wet rocks under strong waves.
Hagfish produce a mucus-based slime containing long protein threads as a rapid defense mechanism. When attacked, the slime expands in water, becoming highly viscous and capable of clogging predators' gills. The crucial components in the exudate are protein thread of hagfish intermediate filament (HIF), and two subunits contribute to the main structure: HIF-α, and HIF-γ. When separated, the two proteins form clear solution, but when they mix together under proper conditions, they crosslink to build a structure backbone and form hydrogels.
Mussel foot proteins (MFPs) are the adhesives secreted by marine mussels such as Mytilus galloprovincalis, Mytilus coruscus, and Perna viridis [1]. Six MFPs (mfp-1 to mfp-6) perform wet adhesion functions, of which mfp-3b and mfp-5 play the most crucial roles in interface adhesion [2]. MFPs have a wide range of adhesion, high strength, and good bio-affinity, and often exploited as adhesive and coating materials [3].
Our solution integrates protein engineering, synthetic biology production, and application testing.
We designed fusion proteins connecting the α/γ protein with mfp3b/5 with a 10 aa linker, granting the hydrogel formed by hagfish intermediate filament protein with adhesiveness for versatile applications.
Like other kinds in the IF family, hagfish IF proteins have a tripartite domain structure: a nonhelical unstructured amino-terminal "head" (N-terminus), a central α-helical "rod" domain (CRD), and an unstructured carboxy-terminal "tail" (C-terminus). The CRD facilitates heterodimerization between α and γ through coiled-coil structures, which contributes to the outstanding mechanical properties of thread that mixed in the hagfish slime. We will also try to investigate how the protein structures affect their properties by removing one of the domains, using PCR to acquire the target sequence and Gibson assembly to construct new coding sequences.
The coding cassette is expressed under the T7 promoter with LacI regulation in E. coli BL21(DE3), induced by IPTG for controlled expression. To enable purification, a 10× His-tag is fused to the N-terminus of the construct. Following fermentation, the bacterial culture is harvested and lysed, and the target protein is purified using Ni-NTA affinity chromatography (IMAC).
To evaluate the potential of our engineered proteins as space-grade materials, we designed a series of application-oriented tests:
These tests simulate practical application scenarios, providing insight into the feasibility of our bio-engineered adhesive materials for space exploration.
We envision a future where in situ produced and biologically-inspired materials become standard in every space mission. Our project is only a first step, but it shows how synthetic biology can expand the boundaries where traditional chemistry cannot reach.
The materials we design are not limited to a single use. Their properties open doors to diverse applications, each carrying unique value:
Through this project, we are inspired to explore how synthetic biology can pioneer innovative materials tailored for extreme environments. Space provides the ultimate testbed — if life-inspired materials can survive and function there, they can reshape our understanding of what synthetic biology can achieve.
Beyond technical innovation, we are passionate about sharing this vision with the community: inspiring people to learn about space, discover synthetic biology, and imagine their own role in shaping the future of humanity beyond Earth. By engaging students, researchers, and the public, we hope to spark curiosity and foster collective innovation for the challenges to come.
Come talk to us if you have crazy ideas about synthetic biology for space missions!