Scientists create underground lab to test human survival on Moon and Mars

By Jim Leffman via SWNS

The key to humans living on places like Mars or the Moon is being tested - more than a kilometer under North Yorkshire in a disused mine.

Scientists have turned deep tunnels 1.1km under the countryside into an underground lab to investigate how scientific and medical operations would take place in challenging other-worldly environments.

Researchers at the University of Birmingham have launched the Bio-SPHERE (Biomedical Sub-surface Pod for Habitability and Extreme-environments Research in Expeditions) project in the research facility in one of the deepest mine sites in the UK.

It is the first of a series of new laboratory facilities planned to study how humans might work and stay healthy during long space missions, a key requirement for ensuring mission continuity on other planets.

The Bio-SPHERE project is based in a 3,000 m3 tunnel network that go through 250-million-year-old rock salt deposits.

This geological environment, together with the deep subsurface location, has enabled researchers to recreate the operational conditions humans would experience working in similar caverns on the Moon and Mars.

This includes remoteness, limited access to new materials and challenges in moving heavy equipment around.

Thanks to the ultra-low radiation environment provided by the depth, the location will enable scientists to investigate how effective underground habitats might be in protecting space crews from deep-space radiation.

This could be a significant risk in space exploration, as well as other hazards, such as falling debris from meteorites, which risks damaging the life-support infrastructure.

Lead researcher Dr. Alexandra Iordachescu, in the University of Birmingham’s School of Chemical Engineering, said: “This new capability will help to gather information that can advise on the life support systems, devices and biomaterials which could be used in medical emergencies and tissue repair following damage in deep-space missions.

“These types of metrics can guide system design and help to assess the scientific needs and acceptable timeframes in bioengineering operations under the constraints of isolated environments, such as space habitats.

"The data is likely to bring numerous benefits for Earth-based applications as well, such as delivering biomedical interventions in remote areas or in hazardous environments and more generally, understanding biomedical workflows in these non-ideal environments.”

The first facility to be opened as part of Bio-SPHERE , is based on a three-meter-wide simulation module and is designed specifically to test biomedical procedures needed to prepare materials for treating tissue damage.

These include complex fluids, polymers and hydrogels for regenerative medicine that could be used, for example, in wound dressings, or fillers for damage mitigation.

This environment provides the opportunity to simulate various mission scenarios and to conduct cutting-edge, interdisciplinary science.

This could range from the effects of extreme environments on biological and medical infrastructure, all the way to investigating how available ‘in-situ’ resources such as ambient pressure, temperature and geology can be used for habitat construction.

The project is being run in partnership with the Boulby Underground Laboratory, a 4,000 m3, a deep underground facility focused on particle physics, Earth sciences and astrobiology research adjacent to the Bio-SPHERE facility.

It is run by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (part of UK Research and Innovation) with the support of the Boulby Mine operators.

Professor Sean Paling, Director and Senior Scientist at the Boulby Underground Laboratory said: "The challenges ahead for humankind in exploring habitats beyond Earth are clearly many and significant.

"The Bio-SPHERE project promises to help answer some key logistical questions in establishing sustainable living conditions in remote, subterranean environments and in doing so will significantly contribute to the essential preparations for our collective long, difficult and exciting journey ahead.

"It is also a great example of the diverse range of scientific studies that can be carried out in a deep underground science facility, and we are very happy to be hosting it.”

A paper describing the concept and design of such a habitat was recently published in the journal Nature (NPJ) Microgravity.