FURI | Fall 2024, Summer 2024

Comparative Study of Sodium, Magnesium, and Calcium Perchlorate Reduction by Microbial Cultures for Bioweathering of Martian Regolith

Microbial perchlorate reduction will be vital for converting toxic Martian regolith into soil suitable for plant growth, which will be crucial for sustaining human presence on Mars. Preliminary experiments showed successful magnesium and calcium perchlorate reduction using enriched microbial cultures from wastewater sludge. Ongoing experiments compare the reduction efficiency of mixed perchlorate salts under Martian conditions. This research advances the Regolith Bioweathering Project, aiming to develop scalable microbial methods to detoxify regolith and generate soil organic matter (SOM), enabling plant cultivation for human habitation of Mars.