Team:UNIK Copenhagen


Project SpaceMoss

SpaceMoss is working on a new breed of moss, designed to be able to live on Mars. Moss can be engineered to produce an almost limitless variety of compounds, and the implications are enormous. It could be pharmaceuticals for the first colonists? Plastics for use in 3D printers on the first Mars outpost? Or even long term terraforming of the entire planet? First however, we need moss which is capable of sustaining the harsh conditions which are found on Mars. One of the biggest challenges for our moss is the violent temperature fluctuations on Mars. Therefore, right now we are working on designing moss that expresses an anti-frost protein which hopefully will make the moss able to survive in minus degrees.

Our webpage is under construction. However, you can already get to know the team and our project. Please have a look. More information, photos etc. will come as our work proceeds so stay close!

SpaceMoss is made up of an interdisciplinary team of biologists, physicists, and business students. Meet the team!




Red Lab and Green Lab

Red Lab
In the 'Red Lab', the team will expose the moss to harsh martian conditions, including extreme temperature differences, fake martian soil, radiation exposure, pressure and CO2 concentrations. More about Red Lab
Green Lab

The 'Green Lab' is working on modifying the moss to survive the extreme temperatures, and then also producing useful compounds. We will insert an 'anti-freeze' gene from a ringworm. This amazing feature works by attaching onto the ends of the ice crystals forming in the cell, slowing down the rate of freezing.

Then, we will attempt to produce resveratrol in the moss, demonstrating the potential of using the hardy moss to produce compounds, such as pharmaceuticals which have shelf lives shorter than the trip between the planets. More about Green Lab