Cape Canaveral, July 20th , 2019.
The team of Kayser Italia at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the nex launch of the experiment BIOROCK with the SpaceX- CRS18. The experiment, run by a research team from the University of Edinburgh in the UK, with the support of Kayser Italia will test how altered states of gravity affect biofilm formation on the International Space Station. Microbes are able to weather down a rock from which they can extract ions. This natural process enables biomining, in which useful metals are extracted from rock ores. Already a common practice on Earth, biomining will eventually take place on the Moon, Mars and asteroids as we expand our understanding and exploration of the Solar System. In the meantime, microbes will be used for many other processes that involve microbial growth on rocks, such as making soil.