NASA is seriously considering growing structures on the Moon and Mars that could eventually be inhabited by people. The US space agency has awarded a $2 million contract to a team of experts from NASA’s Ames Research Center to develop “mycotecture” – the use of fungi-based materials for construction purposes. Such futuristic options are being considered by NASA because launching traditional building materials into space would be very expensive. Architect Chris Maurer, who is part of the research team and founder of redhouse, says the fungal spores could be mixed with lunar materials such as water and regolith to make bricks that would be much cheaper to produce. Preliminary studies have already shown that such mushroom building blocks could even reflect most cosmic radiation and protect people from extreme temperatures. What is especially attractive is that such building materials could be grown in just one or two months. Growing a house of mushrooms on the Moon will begin with sending and landing a special package on the Earth’s satellite. On the surface, it will begin to inflate and grow in size so that mushroom spores, water and algae can mix inside, which will eventually form the outer shell of the dwelling. Early experiments have already shown the effectiveness of this method on Earth, but on another planet or satellite the reality may be completely different. A team of researchers led by NASA Ames Senior Scientist Lynn Rothschild plans to test their method beyond Earth. The scientists want to send a concept model of their invention into space in 2028, along with the launch of the commercial space station Starlab. “In a general sense, there are technological risks,” Rothschild told Al Jazeera. “Will the structure be strong enough? Will it really provide the insulation that we think? What will the material properties be? Will it really grow well?” The post Houses on the Moon and Mars Will Be Grown From Mushrooms appeared first on Anomalien.com.