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Story summary
- The BioAsteroid project aboard the International Space Station tested Sphingomonas desiccabilis and Penicillium simplicissimum on L-chondrite material to assess microbial extraction in microgravity.
- The microbes extracted 18 of 44 elements, including palladium and platinum, under microgravity.
- Biological extraction remained effective in space, while non-biological methods were less so.
- The findings indicate microbes could play a key role in future space mining, pending optimization.
