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AD ASTRA Research progresses

Image by Joao paulo m ramos paulo

Weekly Team Meetings 

Monthly/Weekly Meeting 

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[Friday from 10:30-11:30 AM Central Time Zone]

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Please use this link: https://slu.zoom.us/j/3522846857 

12/12/2025: Weekly Meeting

Participator: Yinjie, Laibin, Amor, Luke, Grace, Hannah, Shrameeta.

 

Luke will mail some biomass [around 500 ml from each reactor with ice] to both Amor's and Laibin's Lab soon. Ice will keep them alive without much activity during shipping and work for further inoculation. 

 

Luke please also provide us the information about the conditions of each reactor if possible [big thanks].

 

Something we need to do: 

 

1. @Shinde, Shrameeta Ravindra would you mind sending the mailing address to Luke, I will grab the samples from your lab once getting here.

 

2. @Halferty, Grace; @Roberts,Hannah

  1. once you do the gravity test, please take some gas sample before and after, and analyze CH4 in GC as soon as possible [within 3 days].

  2. After you finished the gravity test, then ship these samples with dry ice to my lab; we will do nutrient analysis and PHA analysis


 

11/07/2025: Monthly Meeting

Participator: Yinjie, Laibin, Amor, Himadri, Nils, Mark, Tunsisa, Zhine, Eunseo, Grace, Ying, Hannah, Shrameeta, Anindita.

  1. We have group report from each university. 

  2. We continuously discuss to have a plan B for the microgravity test and we will have plan B in Amor's lab

  3. Several groups will attend the "American Society for Gravitational and Space Research. 2025 Conference" at Phoenix, Arizona - December 3-6 · 2O25. please check the conference web: https://asgsr.org/asgsr-2025-phoenix/ 

 

10/24/2025: Weekly Meeting

Participator: Yinjie, Laibin, Grace, Millie, Hannah, Shrameeta.

  1. We discuss to have a plan B for the microgravity test if Luke's lab is still closed due to the government shutdown.

  2. We also discuss opportunity to open AI class in Lincoln University.

 

10/3/2025: Monthly Meeting

Participator: Yinjie, Laibin, Amor, Himadri, Nils, Mark, Tunsisa, Zhine, Eunseo, Grace, Ying, Hannah, Anindita.

  1. We have group report from each university. The monthly report will be uploaded here soon. 

  2. We discussed the annual report format

 

9/30/2025: Group Meeting

Participator: Yinjie, Laibin, Luke, Amor, Grace, Hannah, Ying, Shrameeta

Below are some notes Grace took during the meeting 

 

AD ASTRA Protocol Meeting 

 Dr. Laibin Huang 

  • Get biomass from Luke's lab at the end of the year  

  • Quantify function gene related to methane production 

  • Get DNA extraction from biomass and quantify group related to methane production 

  • Also quantify community not related to methane production 

  • Try to inoculate biomass into new AD chamber 

  • Inoculate in wastewater medium  

 

  • Dr. Amor Menezes 

    • AD in microgravity environment 

      • Taking some of Luke's biomass, inoculate  

      • Put in HARVs, etc. 

    • Modify DECODER, use container that flushes N2 only through 

    • Characterize gas by collecting gas with syringe 

    • Sucrose producing cyanos and E. coli co-culture with wastewater in RPM  

      • Might need to use gas permeable bags 

    • Get complete characterization 

    • Use dry ice to ship biomass to Dr. Huang's Lab for microbial community characterization

    • Get DECODER ready for AD – scale it up 

  • Preliminary experiment to show everything grows together  

  • Previously shown E. coli to produce beta-carotene 

  • Run samples for 10 days in whatever microgravity environment (lunar, Martian, microgravity) 

  • Want to do at larger volume since HARV is only 10 ml 

  • Hope to not see as much stratification in microgravity 

 

  • Dr. Luke Roberson 

    • Sending separate samples to both Dr. Huang and UF 

    • Getting APMBR System back up and running, likely ready in November 

    • April/May system in North Dakota for human waste

 

9/19/2025: Weekly Meeting

Participator: Yinjie, Laibin, Luke, Eunseo, Grace, Ying.

  1. Zhine, from Laibin's group will follow up the biomass shipping from Luke's Lab.

  2. We discussed to measure the VFA production in the Anaerobic digestion reactor using LC-MS in Lincoln university, MO. 

  3. We may need to plan come down to NASA Kennedy Space Center [Luke's lab] or other C-PI at University of Florida this coming spring 2026. 

 

9/3/2025: First Research Progress Meeting

The agenda for this meeting 

  1. Check the update websites https://sites.google.com/d/1YyxcYS8RgjEa1d8j8dPnTMdIdQHnOMsj/p/1GDRQYurTSH_Ezgri4yebFZx02ZKNjYCD/edit 

  2. Dr. Tang introduc a potenial funding opportunity: https://www.onr.navy.mil/organization/departments/code-34/division-342/biotechnology-naval-applications 

  3. Each PI team updates the work have been done so far.

 

8/13/2025: First Kickoff Meeting

The agenda for this meeting

  1. Short introduction of your lab and team (2-3 mins)

  2. Check the task book and annual report requirements—lead by Laibin

  3. Quick check the project website draft—lead by Laibin: https://sites.google.com/view/nasaadastra/home 

  4. Go through the Tasks/objectives—lead by Yinjie. 

  5. Plans—lead by Yinjie

  6. Others—Set up next meeting and meet the program manager

For collaboration and speaking requests and inquiries, please contact:

Laibin Huang
laibin.huang@slu.edu

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