DARPA wants to grow giant biological structures in space, New Scientist reports. According to a DARPA program manager, the combination of biology and mechanical engineering could allow to “manufacture at unprecedented sizes in space.”

SingularityHub has also covered the story.

In February, DARPA’s Biological Technologies Office has issued a call for ideas on “Large Bio-Mechanical Space Structures.”

Metabolic engineering speeds up growth in living things. Extremophiles are tough organisms that survive extreme conditions, like space. Biological self-assembly means living materials can form structures on their own. New design ideas from biology show how to make strong, useful shapes. DARPA thinks these tools can create structures over 500 meters long in microgravity. This could change how we build in space.

Imagine growing space elevator tethers, nets to catch space junk, or huge radio science tools. Biology could also make wings for space stations or patches to fix damage from tiny space rocks. These ideas are hard to do with normal methods. Growing them in space with biology might be easier and cheaper.

A mix of biology and engineering could build giant, useful things in space

DARPA wants to know how to make big, strong biological structures that stay stiff and stable in space.

This could cut down what we launch from Earth. Sending stuff to space costs a lot, but growing structures in space skips most of that. Biology naturally grows and assembles itself fast. But biology alone won’t work. It needs help from mechanical and structural engineering to make stiff, load-bearing shapes in microgravity.

Think of a tent: poles hold it up, and biology acts like the fabric cover. Add electronics, and it can do special jobs. The goal is to use less traditional material and grow more in space.

These structures could need feedstock delivered to them. Some organisms need air, so equipment must control atmosphere, pressure, and temperature. Others don’t need air but still need the right conditions to grow. The structures must grow in the right direction. They might need electronics or strong materials mixed in. DARPA hopes this mix of biology and engineering can build giant, useful things in space, saving money and opening new possibilities.

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