Microbes currently are used in mining to help recover metals such as gold, copper and uranium. Now researchers suggest bacteria could be enlisted for "bio-mining" in space, to extract oxygen, nutrients and minerals from extraterrestrial bodies such as the moon and Mars for use by future colonists there.
With the wholesale dismantling of the US manned space program well underway, it's unlikely very many Americans will be among those colonists. To read the rest of the article, click here.