The future of sustained space habitation depends on our ability to grow fresh food away from Earth. The revolutionary new collaborative Moon-Rice project is using cutting-edge experimental biology to create an ideal future food crop that can be grown in future deep-space outposts, as well as in extreme environments back on Earth.
Modern space exploration relies heavily on resupplies of food from Earth, but this tends to be largely pre-prepared meals that rarely contain fresh ingredients. To counteract the negative effects that the space environment can have on human health, it’s important to have a reliable source of food rich in vitamins, antioxidants, and fibres.
The Moon-Rice project aims to develop the perfect crop for sustaining life in space for long-duration missions, such as the occupation of permanent bases on the Moon or on Mars. “Living in space is all about recycling resources and living sustainably,” says Marta Del Bianco, a plant biologist at the Italian Space Agency. “We are trying to solve the same problems that we face here on Earth.”
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