Biological technologies are a promising mass-reduction alternative to conventional chemical and mechanical techniques for long-duration manned space missions. These technologies are being furthered by the Center for the Utilization of Biological Engineering in Space (CUBES, http://cubes.space/) to support biomanufacturing for deep space exploration. CUBES will advance the practicality of an integrated, multi-function, multi-organism biomanufacturing system on Mars, and showcase continuous and semiautonomous biomanufacturing in Mars-like conditions. Task-specific organisms will convert Martian resources for downstream biological use as media and feedstock, and will also manufacture sustenance and structural products like propellants, 3D-printable biopolymers, food, and pharmaceuticals. Thus, CUBES will progress towards realizing a space biomanufacturing factory. Biochemical process modeling and optimization will play a vital role in ensuring that such factories are designed and operated according to mission specifications. In this talk, I will overview some studies for space biomanufacturing factories by the CUBES Systems Design and Integration Division (SDID), with application to CUBES processes. I will describe initial technoeconomic analyses and scenario trade-offs, highlight several ongoing modeling and optimization results, and outline our efforts in extreme environment emulation and validation, as the CUBES SDID steps towards dynamical process control for a future space biomanufacturing factory.

Biochemical process modeling and optimization for a space biomanufacturing factory

2019 Spring National Meeting

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