This summer we are based at NASA Ames Research Center, and we are building a bioballoon.

NASA is in the midst of several long-term exploratory missions, conducting exciting research on planets in our solar system in the hopes of understanding the origins of life. However, it is very costly to send materials into space. On the most recent Dragon cargo spacecraft sent to the International Space Station (ISS), the cost of cargo was about $9,100 per pound. That means it would cost over $100 to send a pencil to the ISS (without guarantee that the pencil would last very long). To continue to perform critical long-term studies like the search for life on Mars, NASA needs monitoring and research tools that are less expensive to send and more reliable over extended periods of time.

This is where synthetic biology could prove a transformative technology. Instead of bulky materials, we could send microbes engineered to grow the components we need to build various tools and structures. This technology should make sustained space research more feasible.

This summer, our team is working towards building a sensing balloon made of biomaterials. Traditionally balloons have been ideal tools for atmospheric research: to track weather patterns, wind patterns, and to monitor atmospheric composition. Our bioballoon could be used to collect data in hard-to-reach places during planetary exploration, complementing the capabilities of a rover. The bioballoon could be “grown” and re-grown with the same bacteria, dramatically reducing the cost of transport and production.

To make the balloon, we have been engineering bacteria to produce membrane polymers with different properties of strength and elasticity. We have used algae to produce biological hydrogen that could inflate the balloon. We have engineered bacteria to produce radiation resistant materials that might increase balloon durability. Finally, to functionalize our balloon, we have been working on biological temperature and small molecule sensors. Together, these projects could create a novel scientific instrument: cheap, light, durable, and useful to planetary scientists.

Our balloon is not just for outer space; it could be used to collect data on Earth, as well. Each of our balloon subcomponents could also have independent applications.

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