The future of CEA is unfolding abroad the int'l space station

Editor's Note: The much-awaited Indoor AgTech Innovation Summit will gather the indoor agtech community together in New York from June 23-24, 2022. As part of our promotions, Agritecture interviewed panelists joining from the International Space Station National Laboratory - Christine M. Kretz, VP of Programs and Partnerships, Mounir Alafrangy, Commercial Innovation Manager & Technology Lead, and Patrick O'Neill, Public Affairs and Outreach Lead. Register for the event HERE, and use discount code AGT10 to receive 10% off in-person or virtual delegate passes.

Space farming has been a topic of interest to astronauts for nearly as long as humans have been in space. With each individual astronaut requiring about "1.8 kilograms of food and packaging per day," supplying nutritious food to space stations and other long-duration missions is heavy and resource-intensive work.

The field has seen particularly rapid interest and development in the past few years. Some of this research, mainly that carried out by NASA, is focused on the best ways to feed astronauts while they are conducting missions in space. But, there is another strand that is seeking to further CEA research in space with the specific goal of informing agricultural practices here on Earth.

The team with the International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory is tapping into this type of research to build agricultural resilience for those of us on Earth.

While the general public might have some skepticism about the efficacy of conducting agricultural R&D in space, the benefits of space-based farming research for terrestrial purposes are multifaceted.

Continue reading.

Photo: NASA's Matt Romeyn works in the Crop Food Production Research Area of the Space Station Processing Facility at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida; image sourced from NASA/Cory Huston.

Source: Agritecture