More on growing space habitats out of fungus. Seems a bit too good to be true, but very interesting.
Imagine a self-pitching habitat made of a light, fibrous material, with excellent mechanical properties. The material could be used dry, wet, frozen with water or as part of a self-produced composite which could allow such enhancements as radiation protection and a vapour seal. It is self-replicating so the habitat could be extended at a future date, and self-repairing. Some form of this material could be used for a habitat at destination, additional buildings, the shell of multiple rovers and furniture.
The fibrous material is fungal mycelium, the vegetative structure of fungi consisting of branching, thread-like hyphae. Mycelial materials, already commercially produced, are known insulators, fire retardant, and do not produce toxic gasses. Metrics for these materials show compression strengths superior to dimensional lumber, flexural strength superior to reinforced concrete, and competitive insulation values.
https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/niac/2018_Phase_I_Phase_II/Myco-architecture_off_planet
I gotta confess, I'm getting oh so tired of these Buck Rogers fantasies of life offworld. That's why we invented machines. They don't need air. They don't get cancer. They die, we can send another one. A better one. There's nothing out there worth seeing which will survive the run. Meanwhile, about 70% of the vertebrate population on this wonderful planet of ours has disappeared since 1970.
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