- GRANT NUMBER: N2-0445
- PROJECT TITLE: Space Testing for Advanced Resilience of Engineered Living Materials (STAR)
- PROJECT LEADER: Anna Sandak, PhD
- PERIOD: 1. 5. 2026 – 31. 10. 2027
- BUDGET: 149.952,71 EUR
- FINANCING: ERC POC Potencial, ARIS
- PROJECT COORDINATOR: UP IAM
Materials have always driven human progress, but modern industries now demand adaptability, functionality, and sustainability. As urbanization and climate change expose the limits of conventional materials, Engineered Living Materials (ELMs) emerge as a solution, combining living cells with structures to enable self-repair, adaptation, and environmental responsiveness. Space exploration, a catalyst for scientific innovation, presents an extraordinary opportunity to push ELMs to new frontiers. The STAR project leverages the extreme conditions of space – such as microgravity, radiation, temperature fluctuations, and nutrient scarcity – which can affect DNA or disrupt metabolic functions. By studying fungal biofilms and their ability to evolve and self-heal, the project explores how fungi’s adaptation mechanisms could help engineered living materials maintain functionality in unpredictable environments. Insights from this research could drive the development of bio-based, self-repairing coatings, revolutionizing architecture and materials science. By combining microbiology and engineering, ELMs could transform construction, improving resilience and sustainability on Earth and in space.
