Plants and microorganisms in human space exploration play a key role in Bio-regenerative Life Support Systems (BLSS) for resource regeneration, food production, and crew well-being. Establishing sustainable extraterrestrial ecosystems requires an integrative understanding of how multiple space factors influence biological processes and bioregenerative elemental cycles in orbital platforms and planetary habitats.
This session focuses on plant and microbial responses to space factors, including altered gravity, ionizing radiation, and extreme geochemical constraints (e.g., regolith for In-situ Resource Utilization – ISRU), associated with spaceflight and planetary habitats. Altered gravity and ionizing radiation can affect metabolic, morpho-functional, and reproductive traits. When combined with unconventional growth substrates (e.g., lunar and Martian regolith), modified pressure, limited volumes, and reduced resources, these stressors produce complex, non-linear biological responses.
We invite contributions covering, but not limited to:
• Space Plant Biology: Molecular, epigenetic, morpho-anatomical, and physiological responses for acclimation and adaptation of plants to real or simulated space stressors
• Space Microbiology: Molecular, cellular, and other physiological and evolutionary responses of microorganisms to factors in BLSS
• Crop Performance and stress physiology in controlled systems
• Plant-Microbe Interactions & Microbiomes: Dynamics of microbial communities, plant-pathogen relationships, and the role of beneficial microorganisms in space cultivation
• ISRU & Pedogenesis: Regolith processing, bio-weathering, biomining, phytomining, organic matter accumulation, and the biotransformation of planetary materials into synthetic fertile soils
• Biogeochemical Cycling in BLSS: Nutrient dynamics (C, H, O, N, P, S, water, trace elements) and closed-loop life support system integration
• Experimental Platforms & Translation: Results from spaceflight missions, ground-based analogs, predictive modeling, and translation into strategies
• Planetary protection: Technologies, methods, and strategies to minimize the risks of forward contamination by microorganisms used in, or associated with, BLSS
By bridging plant biology, geomicrobiology, biogeochemistry, astrobiology, and space engineering, this session aims to advance an integrative understanding to drive sustainable deep-space exploration while informing solutions for resilient terrestrial agriculture.