Function of bionutrients with examples
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A biology experiment called BioNutrients is testing a way to use microorganisms to produce nutrients – off Earth and on demand – that will be critical for human health in space.
Purple-gloved hands seen holding experiment hardware with a round container at left, and plastic tube extending to the right.
For the BioNutrients experiment, the specially engineered yeast and its powdered food source are held in the container at the left. Its lid holds a membrane that allows carbon dioxide from the yeast to escape. The clear tube at right protects another filter system leading into the compartment with the microorganisms. To activate the yeast and begin the experiment, astronauts on board the space station will inject water through the filter, making it sterile. The water will dissolve the nutrient powder and the yeast will grow and multiply in this liquid environment, producing an important nutrient for human health.
Credits: NASA's Ames Research Center/Dominic Hart
Sailors might have avoided scurvy if NASA had been around in the age of exploration on the high seas. The condition is caused by a vitamin C deficiency, and many people died from spending months at sea without fresh fruits and vegetables. In the age of exploration into deep space, astronauts, too, will need a way to get the right nutrition. Planning ways to supply food for a multi-year mission on the Moon or Mars may require making food and nutrients in space. NASA scientists are testing an early version of a potential solution: get microorganisms to produce vital nutrients so that, whenever they’re needed, astronauts can drink them down. The same kind of system designed for space could also help provide nutrition for people in remote areas of our planet.
Purple-gloved hands seen pouring white powder from a small glass jar into a round plastic container.
The microorganisms used in the BioNutrients experiment and their powdered food source (shown here) are loaded into the hardware for spaceflight using sterile techniques.
Credits: NASA's Ames Research Center/Dominic Hart
Microbial Nutrient Factories
Two women in safety glasses and lab coats. One is wearing purple gloves and working with hardware inside a sterile cabinet.
Researchers Natalie Ball (left) and Hiromi Kagawa (right) assemble the BioNutrients hardware in preparation for an experiment aboard the space station.