take off! Pacific Northwest National Lab's microbial study could pave the way for future farmers on Mars
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket rises from the Florida launch pad. (SpaceX via YouTube) An experiment on its way to the International Space Station focuses on a subject as mundane as soil, but could be key to growing crops in space. The NASA-funded experiment — known as Dynamics of Microbiomes in Space, or DynaMoS — is being conducted by researchers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. DynaMoS utilizes soil and bacteria collected at the Washington State University field site in Prosser, Wash. “Soil microbes are hidden players of life support systems on planet Earth,” PNNL chief scientist Janet Jansson, principal investigator for the DynaMoS experiment, explained during a pre-launch press conference. Bacteria work to break down organic matter and provide nutrients for growing plants. Space missions could expand the reach of microbes beyond our home planet. “Soil microbes can help make conditions on the lunar and Martian surfaces more favorable for plant growth,” Jansson said. “The