Space
Sustainability

Why are we sending a plastic-eating enzyme to space?

This bacteria was bioengineered to upcycle waste.
By Teodosia Dobriyanova  on 
An illustration of a rocket seems to float towards a planet-like sphere that is actually a microscopic image of bacteria. Caption reads: "Bacteria on board".
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On Nov. 26, 2022 a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket departed from departed from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to deliver supplies to the International Space Station. Among the 7,700 pounds of cargo on board, it is safe to say that the smallest delivery that day were a bunch of frozen bacteria.

In an interdisciplinary collaboration, a group of scientists from MIT Media Lab, NREL, Seed Health and others, bioengineered a plastic-eating bacteria to be able to upcycle plastics. Mashable met with some of them to find out how the bacteria works, why it was it was sent to space, and how it can help humanity tackle plastic pollution in space as well as on Earth.

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Teodosia Dobriyanova
Video Producer

Teodosia is a video producer at Mashable UK, focussing on stories about climate resilience, urban development, and social good.


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