In the BioAsteroid project, University of Edinburgh’s Professor Charles Cockell and his colleagues used the bacterial species Sphingomonas desiccabilis and the fungus species Penicillium simplicissimum to see which elements could potentially be extracted from L-chondrite asteroidal material.

But understanding how the microbes interact with rocks in microgravity was equally important.

“This is probably the first experiment of its kind on the International Space Station on meteorite,” said Dr. Rosa Santomartino, a researcher at Cornell University and the University of Edinburgh.

“We wanted to keep the approach tailored in a way, but also general to increase its impact.”

“These are two completely different species, and they will extract different things.”

“So, we wanted to understand how and what, but keep the results relevant for a broader perspective, because not much is known about the mechanisms that influence microbial behavior in space.”