Materials & Tech

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Review

Mushrooms Could Feed Astronauts on Long Missions

Mushrooms Could Feed Astronauts on Long Missions

What they found

A review says mushrooms, with 20–40% protein, could provide food, recycle waste and help regulate air in space habitats.

A review says mushrooms, with 20–40% protein, could provide food, recycle waste and help regulate air in space habitats.

The number

20–40% protein by dry weight

How solid is it?

Review

Review

Narrative review

Narrative review

Evidence ladder: Lab dish → Animal → Early human → Strong human. Reviews summarize earlier research.

At a glance

Latin name

Published in

New Zealand Journal of Botany

New Zealand Journal of Botany

Covered in Shroom Scan

Section

ECOLOGY & CONSERVATION

ECOLOGY & CONSERVATION

As it ran in Shroom Scan

Space Survival Fungi

Space Survival Fungi

Mushrooms (Basidiomycota species) could support long-term space missions by producing food, recycling waste, and helping regulate air inside closed life-support systems. Mushrooms contain 20–40% protein by dry weight and grow efficiently on organic waste, making them a compact way to generate edible biomass during extended missions. Their ability to tolerate microgravity and radiation-intensive environments also makes fungi promising candidates for bioregenerative life-support systems in future space habitats.

Mushrooms (Basidiomycota species) could support long-term space missions by producing food, recycling waste, and helping regulate air inside closed life-support systems. Mushrooms contain 20–40% protein by dry weight and grow efficiently on organic waste, making them a compact way to generate edible biomass during extended missions. Their ability to tolerate microgravity and radiation-intensive environments also makes fungi promising candidates for bioregenerative life-support systems in future space habitats.

Lion’s Mane for Joints, Immune Boost, and Plastic-Eating Fungi,

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