When packing for a manned mission to Mars or the moon, the best thing to bring may not be food or fuel, but specially designed organisms that can create those things for you.

Scientists are researching the possibility of engineering synthetic organisms that would use the resources available in the solar system to create the supplies astronauts would need to survive on another planet.

Full article/source -
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39344314/ns/technology_and_science-space/