Astronaut Microbes Mine Precious Metals in Space

Quick Smiles:

• NASA astronaut extracts platinum from meteorites aboard ISS
• Microgravity boosts microbe mining efficiency
• Space tech advances with bioleaching breakthrough

NASA astronaut Michael Hopkins conducted a pioneering experiment on the International Space Station, using microbes to extract valuable platinum and palladium from L-chondrite meteorite samples.

Researchers from Cornell and Edinburgh universities confirmed the process works even better in microgravity, as the fungus Penicillium simplicissimum enhanced uptake of these precious metals.

The microbes produce carboxylic acids that bind to minerals, making bioleaching—a promising method for harvesting space resources—more effective beyond Earth.

Nonbiological methods proved less successful in space, highlighting nature’s clever advantage.

“Another complex but very interesting result, I think, is the fact that the extraction rate changes a lot depending on the metal that you are considering, and also depending on the microbe and the gravity condition,” Rosa Santomartino, Cornell professor and first author for the study, said in a statement to Cornell Chronicle.

Companies like TransAstra are pioneering asteroid mining technologies, paving the way for sustainable space exploration.

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