Synthetic Biology May Help Us Survive In Space And On Mars

Back in April, I read an article by Samuel McKee in The Conversation in which he stated that only through genetic engineering and synthetic biology will humans be capable of travelling to other planets or thriving in deep space.

Where rocketeers like Elon Musk see engineering as the key to human survival in space and places like Mars, McKee argues that these traditional technology approaches require humanity to forever live in bubbles or, in the case of Mars, domed habitats where Earth-like environments are replicated.

Here on Earth, we are already familiar with genetic engineering. Before we started messing with genes, we were engineering new species through selective breeding. Now we are doing it at the cellular level using tools like CRISPR Cas9. We even have the tools to do gene sequencing in space. MinION is a technology developed by Oxford Nanopore Technologies which has allowed astronauts on the International Space Station to sequence the genomes of microorganisms using a handheld device.

Having mapped the human genome and developed tools to reconstruct it, we now have the means to change ourselves to better fit the places where we want to go. That’s what synthetic biology will help us do, a technology that British biologist Jamie A. Davies calls “the creation of new living systems by design.” Creationists must be rolling over in their graves.

Why will synthetic biology be key to making it possible for humanity to fulfil what John Wyndham, in one of his science fiction novels, labelled the Outward Urge? In Wyndham’s book, he outlines a series of steps as humanity first builds a space station, establishes settlements on the Moon, lands on Mars, and initiates human exploration of Venus. Except for the last evolutionary step, Wyndham appears to have drawn the route map by which NASA and Elon Musk’s SpaceX are navigating.

Today, we do not know if there are Martians. If they have existed and still do, they are likely microorganisms that arose four billion years ago in the planet’s past and have survived its changes to become the dry, cold desert that it is today. Whatever we do on Mars, if Martians exist, we need to protect them before we start messing with the planet, as some advocate.

Terraforming Mars for Earth life is the dream of many science fiction writers. Terraforming involves introducing synthetic microorganisms to alter the planet to make it habitable for Earth life.

Other than finding a way to turn an inhospitable environment into one that is habitable, why would humans choose synthetic biology as the primary tool?

One good reason is to make it cheaper to exploit and inhabit the planet. The SpaceX plan to colonize Mars involves hundreds of Starships hauling freight between Earth and Mars over the next several decades. The cost of such an effort would make the Apollo Program budget from the 1960s look like a rounding accounting error.

Another reason is that, rather than attempting to rapidly alter an entire planet (let’s not talk about the two variables: time and cost), creating synthetic organisms and even re-engineering ourselves would be a far easier means to an end.

Change Mars Or Change Us

Humans are poorly adapted for living “off-world.” Our biological systems take a beating in space. Just ask the astronauts, cosmonauts, and taikonauts about what happens when exposed to microgravity, low gravity, extreme radiation and more during and after their time onboard low-Earth orbiting space stations.

After we know what, if anything, is still alive on Mars, we could consider introducing microbes designed to change the planet. These microbes would be synthetic and built for specific tasks. One could be designed to produce oxygen and sequester carbon dioxide (CO2). Another could fix nitrogen and remove perchlorate in the soil. Any microbes we engineer would have to withstand cosmic and solar radiation. They would be capable of thriving in lower amounts of sunlight, and like extremophiles and psychrophiles here on Earth, propagate in toxic and extreme cold conditions.

Once conditions were more Earth-like, synthetic biology could re-engineer the familiar plant staples that feed our planet. Terraforming would create conditions where re-engineered plants could survive on the planet’s surface. Once plants are thriving on Mars, the atmosphere will thicken and become more Earth-like. A greenhouse effect would begin to transform the planet.

How long would this terraforming experiment last before Mars became a second Earth? Estimates vary between two centuries to millennia.

On the other hand, using synthetic biology and genetic engineering could turn homo sapiens into homo sapiens martianus or just homo martianus.

Homo martianus would have re-engineered genetics to deal with the low gravity of Mars (38% of Earth’s gravity). Gravity on Earth impacts bone density and muscles. An enhanced LRP5 gene could make our bones better suited to life on Mars.

To deal with the low oxygen environment of Mars, we would enhance genes that make homo martianus efficiently use oxygen in similar ways to how Tibetans and Andeans do in high altitude conditions on Earth.

To cope with radiation, genes like p53 that suppress cancerous tumours could be enhanced.

We could consider inserting genes from extremophiles and psychrophiles to make homo martianus comfortable with Martian realities.

We could alter human metabolism so that homo martianus would require less food and water to thrive.