Fig. 3: Schematic depiction of a biomining reactor.
From: Microbial applications for sustainable space exploration beyond low Earth orbit
The biomining reactor has three main components: the culture chamber, the media reservoir chamber, and a fixative reservoir chamber (shown in section 1). The culture chamber is where the biomining reactions take place and where the microorganisms reside before the media is injected. The media reservoir chamber contains the nutrients required for the biomining reaction to occur and is injected into the culture chamber to begin the biomining reaction (section 2). Once the biomining reaction is completed, a fixative is injected to halt microbial growth (section 3).
