Knowledge required to create a biosphere from scratch

Establish the scientific and engineering knowledge needed to construct a self-sustaining biosphere on Mars de novo, including identification and engineering of pioneer organisms, biomaterials production, habitat replication, pedogenesis, biogeochemical feedbacks, and ecosystem function under Martian environmental conditions.

Background

Applied astrobiology is identified as a new field necessary to design and manage extraterrestrial biospheres. The authors list critical biological and ecological components—such as pioneer organism selection and habitat growth—that remain to be developed for Mars.

They stress that while simple life can grow exponentially under favorable conditions, Mars currently lacks these conditions, and a de novo biosphere requires integrated advances across biology, chemistry, materials science, and climate modeling.