DARPA seeks ideas for 'large bio-mechanical space structures'
- Reference: 1740679334
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/02/27/darpa_biomech_space_structures/
- Source link:
It all sounds a bit like science-fiction, and DARPA has pursued more than its fair share of wild ideas in the past – the [1]autonomous tank is a particular favorite of this writer – but the agency is all about pursuing far-out concepts in the hope that one or two might prove to be useful.
And so it is with [2]bio-mechanical space structures . While that might sound like something from H. R. Giger's imagination that would feature in a Ridley Scott movie, the reality is more prosaic. DARPA is looking into the feasibility of "growing" a huge biological structure in microgravity rather than having to haul up the building blocks from Earth.
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The agency is looking for structures more than 500 meters long. It envisages uses including vast nets for orbital debris collection, tethers for a space elevator, or self-assembled wings for a commercial space station. A long, slimy tentacle resulting from a hideously misguided experiment is not listed as an example.
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While reality might not have caught up with the imagination of boffins, there is much to recommend the idea. Growing a lengthy structure in microgravity sounds like a good idea, stirring in some rapid growth and a solution for providing sufficient nutrients, and there's the potential to do away with at least some of the upmass headaches faced by humans wanting structures in space.
It sounds like DARPA is seeking something like a tree, spider silk, or perhaps some sort of skin.
[6]Microsoft shows off novel quantum chip that can scale to 'a million qubits'. So far: Eight
[7]DARPA skips the lab, will head to orbit to test space manufacturing tech
[8]DARPA asking for ideas on automating money laundering detection
[9]UK's Darpa clone faces tough test next spring as government considers future funding
"A relevant analogy is that of a tent," DARPA said. "Given the structural material of the tent poles, biological growth mechanisms are envisioned to be the 'cover' of the tent. The tent can be shaped a particular way by the underlying poles, and when embedded with appropriate electronics, perform a given function."
It's an interesting thought experiment. What would the use case be for such a structure? How feasible is the idea? Is there potential for a proof-of-concept experiment?
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DARPA is planning to host a workshop in April to review and discuss relevant research and "wishes to encourage maximum participation and the presentation of as many innovative solutions as possible."
But maybe leave your eldritch horror at home. ®
Get our [11]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2024/04/25/darpa_autonomous_tank/
[2] https://sam.gov/opp/426e5868fcf74dd4ada3768b00b09234/view
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Z8DumEx1tDYrMVKhYc6IYgAAAQ8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Z8DumEx1tDYrMVKhYc6IYgAAAQ8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Z8DumEx1tDYrMVKhYc6IYgAAAQ8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/19/microsoft_majorana_1_chip/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/12/darpa_decides_to_skip_the/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/28/darpa_auto_money_laundering_detection/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/13/uks_darpa_clone_faces_tough/
[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Z8DumEx1tDYrMVKhYc6IYgAAAQ8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Anyone that's a proven arselicker to the Orange Jesus?
You can't create matter
Fleshy meat bags must eat to grow, and that matter has to come from somewhere. Cthulhu will have to learn to eat space rocks if he's not on an earthling diet.
Re: You can't create matter
And to grow a tree, requires the tree's weight in CO2 and water to be converted by photosynthesis, which will have to be sent up from Earth. In other words, it's easier to just send up a grown tree than send up all the stuff to grow one.
Re: You can't create matter
... not to mention the stuff found in soil (calcium, sodium, magnesium, iron, manganese, sulfur, chlorine, silicon) and in bat shit fertilizers if needed (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium).
Re: You can't create matter
Article states:
the feasibility of "growing" a huge biological structure in microgravity rather than having to haul up the building blocks from Earth.
The agency is looking for structures more than 500 meters long. It envisages uses including vast nets for orbital debris collection,
So maybe it would be a space scavenger, like the space-ship 'Red Dwarf' in the UK TV series of that name. It could then build the large structure from satellites and satellite debris other people have launched (there are a a lot of Starlink satellites in orbit). But OTOH, just getting something that could gather space junk, process it and build it into something useful would be very difficult.
So, on the whole I am, not convinced this has been all that well thought through.
Ha s someone at DARPA been watching "The Expanse"
...and thinking it is a documentary?
Re: Ha s someone at DARPA been watching "The Expanse"
I wondered if someone read Niven's The Integral Trees?
Re: Ha s someone at DARPA been watching "The Expanse"
Or the formed coral houses in Niven's A Gift From Earth.
Honestly, that one always intrigued me, though it's probably more of a planet-bound structure.
Bio-mechanical spaceships? I worship His Shadow. Long may he reign.
We all know where
this ends.
"It was jet black. A shade of black so deep your eye just kinda slides off it. And it shimmered when you looked at it. A spider big as death and twice as ugly. And when it flies past, it's like you hear a scream in your mind."
Re: We all know where
+1 B5 was just top
The bioItalian bioJob bioSpace Project bioProposal
This will definitely require a systems approach imho. For a large bioenclosure, one needs structural biosupports and biocloth, along with a method for bioassembly. Engineering sophomores have already learnt how to design (calcs and all), and construct, [1]massive bridges out of biospaghetti and it seems that the approach could surely be applied in space, without the extra students loading. So part of the overall device here will be that subsystem that grows biowheat in space, and converts it to biospaghetti. Bonus: you can eat the leftover biomaterials if desired!
For the cloth part, as with properly comfortable underwear, it's clear that the best approach is to employ silkworms, which have a long tradition in both [2]Japanese and [3]Chinese space programs, and generally have a [4]great future in space . Susbsytem #2 then is that where silkworms are grown, their silk is harvested, and the relevant very large underwear textile cloth is woven. Bonus: you can eat the leftover biomaterials here too, if desired!
The matter of bioassembly of the biostructure and biocloth, in space, is only slightly more challenging. The trick there is obviously to engage controllable extremophiles that can withstand the harsh conditions of outer space, for a sufficient amount of time, as they diligently perform their intricate task of rapid directional deployment and growth. For this purpose, the proposed project endeavors to combine the tried-and-tested extreme environment resistance and perfect space-looks of [5]Burning Man extremophile Triops , with the speed and agility of [6]solar-powered, remote-controlled cyborg cockroaches .
The biospace-efficient hybrid organisms will be biodeveloped using standard gene-gun interbreeding techniques, at our certified BioSafety Level-3 secret facility, under the resolute desk, again (as usual). Extensive testing will be performed above the resolute desk, with biospaghetti and balls of biocloth strategically positioned within a biospace saucer implement, upon which the biohybrid triop-roaches will be introduced to assess their rate of bioassembly using SOP. The same experimentation will be repeated in the vomit comet, LEO, and outer space, over the course of the project. Bonus: if you remove the micro-solar panels, and the triop bits, and a couple other things, you can eat the leftovers, if really, really hungry!
Detailed Budget -- Year 1: $100B, Year 2: $100B, Year 3: $100B, Year 4: $100B, Years 5-10: %600B (a bargain!)
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaghetti_bridge
[2] https://iss.jaxa.jp/en/kiboexp/theme/first/radsilk/
[3] https://english.cas.cn/newsroom/archive/china_archive/cn2017/201702/t20170224_174350.shtml
[4] https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2023/09/27/do-silkworms-have-a-future-in-space/
[5] https://www.iflscience.com/three-eyed-dinosaur-shrimp-are-waking-up-at-burning-man-70529
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/22/japanese_solar_powered_cyborg_cockroach/
What fool would waste time on an RFP from the US federal government at this juncture?