Researching mycelium’s potential for self-sustainability in space, using 3D technology.

This project is sponsored by Starlab and SpaceX to build a research laboratory located in LEO, where perpetual freefall creates the feeling of weightlessness. Starlab serves as a testbed for the life-support systems long-duration missions will eventually depend on.

Long-duration missions face three compounding problems: structures have to withstand the physiological effects of prolonged microgravity, waste has nowhere to go, and food has to be imported at enormous cost. This project explores 3D-printing mycelium, a fast-growing, self-binding organic material, as a way to address all three at once: building spaces with structural versatility, crafting customized and fully recyclable furniture and tools, and producing food in a closed-loop system where waste becomes the next batch’s growth medium.