Mushrooms are the fleshy, spore-bearing parts of certain fungi, with than 14,000 species described, although some scientists estimate the actual count to be in the millions! Colloquially, edible sporophores are called mushrooms, while poisonous varieties are called "toadstools," but there is no structural difference between the two other than their benignity (or lack thereof) to humans to differentiate them.

As seen in the video, mushroom uses in future space travel range widely! As scientists understand it, the presence of fungi can't be eradicated fully, so the best way forward is to work with the presence of fungi to aid in the future of space travel. Gravity impacts the release of spores and can increase reproductive efficiency in space, and mushrooms are excellent sources of nutrition for future astronauts and space dwellers.

The same attributes that make fungi excellent decomposers on earth pose dangers for fungi not effectively used or contained. When used as binding in space building material, this risks are minimized and used as assets.

For more research on space mushrooms, and the future of space science, check out NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts Program (NIAC)! In particular, the team that studies mushrooms in space is led by Lynn Rothschild, a senior research scientist at NASA, and her co-investigator Chris Maurer.