“Mini-Earths”: the future of humans in space | Isabel Santos de Sousa | TEDxE2SPPORTO

Bioregenerative life support systems, sometimes called "mini-Earths", are presented as a possible way to keep astronauts alive on long missions to the Moon and Mars. These systems use living organisms such as plants, microbes, fungi, algae and insects to recycle waste, produce oxygen, grow food and support medicine production. The talk also considers how the same approach could help remote communities, disaster zones and future cities on Earth.

• Bioregenerative life support systems using plants, microbes, fungi, algae and insects
• Recycling waste, producing oxygen and growing food in space
• Possible benefits for astronauts' physical and mental health
• Applications for remote communities, disaster zones and cities on Earth

How can we live in space? As humanity prepares to return to the Moon and venture towards Mars, this question becomes more urgent than ever. In this talk, Isabel Santos de Sousa introduces a possible solution: bioregenerative life support systems. These “mini-Earths” use living organisms such as plants, microbes, fungi, algae and insects to recycle waste, produce oxygen, grow food and even support the production of medicine in space. Discover how these systems could protect astronauts’ physical and mental health, while also inspiring sustainable solutions for remote communities, disaster zones and future cities on Earth. This talk invites us to see space exploration not as an escape from our planet’s problems, but as a way to help solve them. Isabel Santos de Sousa is a bioengineer and PhD candidate from the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto. Her research focuses on the development of sustainable bioregenerative life support systems for space exploration using microorganisms. Isabel was awarded the Blue Young Talent Scholarship (2022), the Gulbenkian New Talents Scholarship (2023) and the Pedro Nunes Best Iberian Master’s Thesis in Planetary Sciences and Exploration Award (2025). This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx