In-situ resource utilization to produce Haematococcus pluvialis biomass in simulated Martian environment

The production of food or nutraceutical compounds using in-situ available resources is one the most relevant challenges in view of the realization of crewed mission to Mars. The possibility to grow Haematococcus pluvialis CCALA 1081 in a medium obtained from Mars regolith and astronauts' urine simulants under an atmosphere of CO2 mimicking the Martian one after pressurization, is investigated in this work. The experimental results showed that H. pluvialis could be grown using only such resources thus theoretically reducing to zero the payload related to fertilizers to bring from Earth. Total lipid content increased under Mars simulated conditions. Metabolomics showed that some steps of the tricarboxylic acid cycle were upregulated under Mars simulated atmosphere. Lipidomics revealed that triglycerides and diglycerides were overexpressed when cultivation was carried out under Mars simulated conditions. Accordingly, the growth of H. pluvialis on Mars seems not only feasible but also capable to improve the nutritional profile of the biomass.