A team of engineers from the NASA Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley has secured funding for their innovative Mycotecture Off Planet project. The initiative hopes to construct off-planet sustainable housing and furniture designs from mycelial composite bricks.

The $2 million in funding will help the team's development towards a potential future demonstration mission in advance of the Artemis Moon/Mars exploration program, which is being hailed as an important "stepping stone." 

A NASA press release stressed its ability to be transferred over for additional use as a building material for structures on Earth, adding that its long-term prospects rely on "science and technology that doesn’t yet exist." Habitations would be grown on the lunar surface using water to a lightweight support material containing dormant fungi.

"Mycotecture Off Planet exemplifies how advanced concepts can change how we envision future exploration missions," John Nelson, the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts Program Executive, explains. "As NASA embarks on the next era of space exploration, NIAC helps the agency lay the necessary groundwork to bring innovative visions to life."

Work under Phase III will help the team optimize material properties and tests in low Earth orbit. Further applications could include integration into new space station concepts. 

The team is being led by Lynn Rothschild. Her colleague Walt Engelund from the Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington added finally: "We invest in these technologies throughout their lifecycle, recognizing their potential to help us accomplish our goals — benefiting industry, our agency, and humanity."