Space station biomining experiment demonstrates rare earth element extraction in microgravity and Mars gravity

Nat Commun. 2020 Nov 10;11(1):5523. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-19276-w.

Abstract

Microorganisms are employed to mine economically important elements from rocks, including the rare earth elements (REEs), used in electronic industries and alloy production. We carried out a mining experiment on the International Space Station to test hypotheses on the bioleaching of REEs from basaltic rock in microgravity and simulated Mars and Earth gravities using three microorganisms and a purposely designed biomining reactor. Sphingomonas desiccabilis enhanced mean leached concentrations of REEs compared to non-biological controls in all gravity conditions. No significant difference in final yields was observed between gravity conditions, showing the efficacy of the process under different gravity regimens. Bacillus subtilis exhibited a reduction in bioleaching efficacy and Cupriavidus metallidurans showed no difference compared to non-biological controls, showing the microbial specificity of the process, as on Earth. These data demonstrate the potential for space biomining and the principles of a reactor to advance human industry and mining beyond Earth.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Bacillus subtilis / metabolism
  • Bacteria / metabolism*
  • Bioreactors / microbiology*
  • Cupriavidus / metabolism
  • Exobiology*
  • Gravitation*
  • Industrial Microbiology
  • Mars
  • Metals, Rare Earth / metabolism*
  • Mining
  • Moon
  • Silicates
  • Sphingomonas / metabolism
  • Weightlessness

Substances

  • Metals, Rare Earth
  • Silicates
  • basalt

Supplementary concepts

  • Cupriavidus metallidurans
  • Sphingomonas desiccabilis