Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans is a Gram-negative bacterium that thrives in extreme acidic conditions. It has emerged as a key player in biomining and bioleaching technologies thanks to its unique ability to mobilize a wide spectrum of elements, such as Li, P, V, Cr, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ga, As, Mo, W, Pb, U, and its role in ferrous iron oxidation and reduction. A. ferrooxidans catalyzes the extraction of elements by generating iron (III) ions in oxic conditions, which are able to react with metal sulfides. This review explores the bacterium’s versatility in metal and elemental mobilization, with a focus on the mechanisms involved, encompassing its role in the recovery of industrially relevant elements from ores. The application of biomining technologies leveraging the bacterium’s natural capabilities not only enhances element recovery efficiency, but also reduces reliance on conventional energy-intensive methods, aligning with the global trend towards more sustainable mining practices. However, its use in biometallurgical applications poses environmental issues through its effect on the pH levels in bioleaching systems, which produce acid mine drainage in rivers and lakes adjacent to mines. This dual effect underscores its potential to shape the future of responsible mining practices, including potentially in space, and highlights the importance of monitoring acidic releases in the environment.

The long-term presence of humans in space depends on reducing reliance on Earth's resupply of materials and resources. In situ resource utilization (ISRU) represents a sustainable approach to support human activities in space by converting local materials into consumables, propellants, and structural feedstocks. In parallel, bioregenerative life support systems (BLSS) primarily sustain internal loop closure (LC) by regenerating air, H ₂ O, nutrients, and food from habitat-contained streams. Traditional ISRU concepts have primarily focused on abiotic technologies that process rocks, regolith, and atmospheric components to extract O ₂ , H ₂ O, and metals, although biotic approaches are also under investigation. Biological and bio-hybrid approaches, guided by microorganisms and other living systems, could complement these technologies by supporting both external resource conversion and internal LC in future space exploration. In this review, we adopt a resource-centric framework to compare abiotic, biotic, and coupled resources acquisition pathways across the main functional domains relevant to both ISRU and BLSS, treated as operationally distinct but architecturally coupled subsystems within a broader resource-management framework. We discuss the main functional domains required for human settlement, spanning external resource conversion (O ₂ , CO ₂ , H ₂ , CH ₄ , H ₂ O, materials, manufacturing, energy) and internal regenerative functions (food production, air and H ₂ O revitalization, and waste recycling). For each domain, we describe representative abiotic (e.g., MOXIE, ROXY, molten-regolith electrolysis, fission surface power, and advanced solar arrays) and biotic systems, for both ISRU-relevant bioprocesses (e.g., biomining, biopolymer production) and BLSS components (e.g., plant-growth and microbial recycling loops). The most realistic path toward sustainable human settlements beyond Earth orbit lies in coupled ISRU-BLSS architectures in which external resource acquisition and internal regenerative loops are coordinated across shared material and energy flows.

The search for extraterrestrial life has traditionally focused on environments where liquid H₂O is stable over long timescales, such as subsurface aquifers, hydrothermal systems, or ice-rich deposits. However, many planetary bodies are characterized by active cycles of particulate transport involving either mineral dust or atmospheric aerosols. In planetary science, these are commonly distinguished as refractory particles (non-volatile mineral dust) and volatile or mixed aerosol particles, including condensates such as ices, organics, or acidic droplets. Here, we propose the concept of planetary aerobiomes, defined as distributed particle-associated microbial persistence and dispersal systems in extraterrestrial environments. In this framework, refractory mineral particles may act as mobile particle-associated microenvironments that could support microbial survival and dispersal, while in some cases also providing partial physical shielding from environmental stressors. Drawing on observations from terrestrial dust-associated microbiomes and mineral–microbe interactions, particle-associated systems may represent previously overlooked ecological substrates in planetary environments. Rather than replacing models centred on environments with persistent liquid H₂O, this perspective expands them by considering particle-associated microenvironments as transient but potentially relevant biosignature-preservation niches in arid, dust-dominated worlds such as Mars, as well as in aerosol-rich environments including Titan, Venus, and icy moons. We further discuss the implications for life-detection strategies, highlighting atmospheric particles as potential reservoirs of biosignatures, and consider their relevance for applied microbiology, including in situ resource utilization (ISRU) and bioregenerative life-support systems (BLSS). Beyond astrobiological implications, understanding microbial persistence within particle-associated extreme environments may provide useful models for applied microbiology, including stress-resilient microbial engineering, biomining, contamination control, and bioregenerative technologies for space exploration.