The future of plant life on Mars may be bioplastic.
Green algae (Dunaliella tertiolecta) flourished under Mars-like conditions inside translucent, bioplastic habitats, researchers report July 2 in Science Advances. Algae or plants that produce bioplastics grown inside the habitats could provide more material to build livable structures. Such a self-sustaining loop could help space travelers build where necessary rather than relying on supplies hauled from Earth.
People would need a lot of supplies to create livable conditions on another planet. “Extraterrestrial conditions are very hostile in general,” says Robin Wordsworth, a planetary scientist at Harvard University. “If you think about the moon or deep space or Mars, it’s no