Insects at low pressure: applications to artificial ecosystems and implications for global windborne distribution.

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Astrobiology
• Environmental Science

Background:

• Closed-loop life support systems are crucial for long-duration space missions and sustainable living.
• Insects are being explored for their potential roles in these systems, including waste management and food production.
• Understanding insect environmental tolerances is key to their successful integration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the tolerance of various insect orders and life stages to reduced atmospheric pressures.
• To determine the lower pressure limits for insect survival and respiration in a terrestrial atmosphere.
• To evaluate the compatibility of insects with plants in low-pressure artificial ecosystems.

Main Methods:

• Exposure of diverse insect species and life stages to a terrestrial atmosphere with controlled pressure reductions.
• Monitoring insect survival and respiration at different pressure levels, down to 100 millibars (mb).
• Analysis of pressure tolerance in relation to insect body volume.

Main Results:

• All tested insects tolerated atmospheric pressures down to 100 mb.
• Insect respiration remained unaffected until pressures dropped to 500 mb.
• Pressure tolerance was found to be independent of insect body volume across the studied species.

Conclusions:

• Insects demonstrate significant resilience to low atmospheric pressures, compatible with artificial and closed-loop ecosystems.
• The findings support the integration of insects alongside plants in environments with reduced atmospheric pressure.
• This research has implications for arthropod survival, colonization, and global distribution, particularly in extraterrestrial contexts.