MELBOURNE, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- Scientists have outlined a roadmap for using plants to support long-term human life on the Moon and Mars, using technologies that could also transform sustainable food production on Earth.
The project brings together more than 40 scientists from multiple countries and space agencies to outline the plant science breakthroughs needed to create self-sustaining, plant-based life-support systems for deep space exploration, a media release from Australia's University of Melbourne said Thursday.
These systems would grow fresh food, recycle water and air and support astronaut health and wellbeing, according to the study published in New Phytologist.
To guide future missions, the authors introduce a new Bioregenerative Life Support System Readiness Level framework to measure how effectively plants can recycle nutrients, purify water, generate oxygen and provide nutrition in space habitats.
The roadmap highlights recent advances in crop science for space such as synthetic biology, precision sensing and controlled-environment agriculture, the media release said.
Researchers said the work will guide priorities ahead of the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Artemis III mission in 2027, which will return humans to the lunar surface and include the Lunar Effects on Agricultural Flora experiment, the first attempt to grow and return plants from the Moon.
Designing plant systems for the Moon offers powerful insights for improving agriculture on Earth, said study co-author, University of Melbourne Associate Professor Sigfredo Fuentes, who examined how plants can be engineered, adapted and monitored to thrive in lunar and Martian environments, together with global colleagues.
"Space pushes us to design plant systems that are highly efficient, resilient and precisely monitored," which will help grow food sustainably in drought-prone regions, cities and remote communities, Fuentes said. ■
