ISS Microbes Point Toward Sustainable Asteroid Mining
An ISS BioAsteroid experiment tested bacteria and a fungus on asteroid material under microgravity and Earth gravity. Microbes extracted several metals, including palladium and platinum, sometimes outperforming non-biological leaching, though results varied by metal and organism. Overall, 44 elements were extracted, 18 biologically, suggesting microbes could enable more sustainable space mining, but much optimization remains.