Header image: Lunar base made with 3D printing. Image credit: ESA/Foster + Partners
Would you fancy sharing a spacecraft with cockroaches? How about using them for food? Just in time for Halloween, the European Space Agency (ESA) has published details of an insect bioreactor developed by Polish company Astronika to recycle waste in space.
On the International Space Station, astronauts have to stow their trash in an empty cargo container. When it’s full, the capsule undocks and returns to Earth, to burn up in the atmosphere.
That’s not an option for long duration space missions, where it will be vital to recycle as much waste as possible. That’s why Astronika has been working on a new way to recycle rubbish, with funding from ESA.
“The main focus of this project was the bioconversion of waste generated during space missions. We explored how insects, specifically cockroaches, could convert organic material into useful resources such as biomass in a space station. This contributes to creating a more circular and sustainable ecosystem in space.”
Nicolas Thiry, ESA engineer leading the activity
The Insect Bioreactor
“The insect bioreactor is an autonomous system that can handle large amounts of waste, up to 3.6 kilograms per week. It brings several benefits simultaneously, including waste reduction, water recovery and the potential to produce protein for astronauts. No other existing device combines all these features, making it highly sustainable for space missions.”
Mateusz Grzyb, lead engineer of the project at Astronika.
The bioreactor is a closed-loop system, using cockroaches to process waste. (It has a waste grinder to break down larger pieces, if needed.)
“The more insects we have, the more waste we can break down. By optimising the environment inside the bioreactor – controlling temperature, humidity, and waste conditions – we can speed up the cockroaches’ metabolism and reproduction, allowing us to effectively reduce the waste,” said Mateusz.
Recycling with Cockroaches
Although we think of cockroaches as pests, in reality very few species are. Madagascar cockroaches are hardy insects, able to survive harsh conditions and reproduce quickly. They’re known for their adaptability to diverse environments, making them ideal candidates for controlled bioreactor environments in space.
Cockroaches convert waste very efficiently. By digesting up to 3.6 kilograms of waste per week, the roaches can produce more than 100 grams of protein – equivalent to more than 20 hen’s eggs. There are several cultures around the world that use cockroaches as food, and Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches have a taste and texture like greasy chicken. During the study they managed to complete their life cycle and maintain normal development on a restricted diet, so they could become a reliable source of protein-rich biomass for future space missions. Researchers have also analysed how the cockroaches’ waste, or frass, can be used as a fertiliser for growing plants.
The project is still in its early stages, and the next step will be to send a small bioreactors into space to test how cockroaches behave and reproduce in microgravity. Understanding how the insects react in space will provide critical feedback for further development. Eventually, the bioreactor could be used on long-duration missions to the Moon or Mars, where it could support plant cultivation and food production.
Read more: Using roaches to minimise waste in space
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