And now for something entirely different. Researchers at Georgia Tech have figured out how to convince Earth bacteria in artificial Mars-like conditions to produce rocket fuel. And honestly, I now want to train bacteria to produce all rocket, car, and home heating fuel, because why not?

Here’s how it works. Cyanobacteria – basically algae – can live in melted water and use sunlight to process atmospheric carbon dioxide into sugars. Hungry E. Coli can then take those sugars and make a propellant that is chemically called 2,3-butanediol. These are Earth-based bacteria and will need to be taken to Mars, but so far, this seems like it will work. 

This publication is led by Nicholas Kruyer and appears in Nature Communications. According to the paper’s abstract: A state-of-the-art [biotechnology-enabled in situ resource utilization setup] for 2,3-butanediol production uses 32% less power and requires a 2.8-fold higher payload mass than proposed chemical in situ resource utilization strategies, and generates 44 tons of excess oxygen to support colonization. Attainable, model-guided biological and materials optimizations result in an optimized bio-[setup] that uses 59% less power and has a 13% lower payload mass, while still generating 20 tons excess oxygen.

More Information

Georgia Tech press release

“Designing the bioproduction of Martian rocket propellant via a biotechnology-enabled in situ resource utilization strategy,” Nicholas S. Kruyer et al., 2021 October 25, Nature Communications