Moon-Rice Could Soon Sprout in Space, Adding a Fresh Ingredient to Astronauts’ Diets

Astronauts cannot enjoy the happiness of home cooking in space, but they could soon eat warmer and healthier meals with a basic ingredient like the star: rice. Simple culture has the potential to become an essential space food, which is why scientists intend to genetically adapt the perfect rice to cultivate beyond our planet.

A collaboration between the Italian space agency and three Italian universities – nicknamed the Moon -Rorice project – has already had one step ahead of the creation of rice which could feed astronauts on long -term space missions. Since the diets of astronauts are made up of prepared dishes that lack fresh ingredients, the culture of rice in space could help them get the nutrients they need to stay in shape while exploring the final border.

Learn more:: The chronometer works differently on the moon – here is how NASA will regulate the lunar time

Cultivate perfect space rice

The key to perfecting space rice is to meet a trifecta of conditions: rice must be small, productive and nutritious.

Most cultures cultivated on earth are too large to be cultivated reliably in space, even more compact varieties of dwarf rice.

“What we need is a super darf, but it comes with its own challenges,” said Marta del Bianco, plant biologist at the Italian space agency, in a statement. “Dwarf varieties often come from the handling of a vegetable hormone called Gibberelline, which can reduce the height of the plant, but this also creates problems for the germination of seeds. They are not an ideal harvest, because in space, you just don’t have to be small, you also have to be productive. ”

The project is progressing on several fronts to find a delicate balance between size and efficiency. At the University of Milan, researchers have isolated mutant varieties of rice which can reach a height of 10 cm (~ 4 inches). Meanwhile, researchers at the University of Sapienza in Rome identify genes that can maximize the efficiency of culture production and growth.

To meet the need for high protein, Del Bianco and his team work to increase the protein content of rice by increasing the ratio of the embryo rich in starch protein.

They will also test the reaction of culture to micro-gravity, which induces weightlessness that astronauts experience in a space station. The best way to reproduce this on Earth is to rotate the plant so that it is also drawn in all states by gravity.

Nutritional needs for astronauts

Long -term space missions will probably become more frequent in the near future while nations are turning to sending humans to the moon and Mars. Consequently, the need for food that can be cultivated on permanent space bases is becoming more and more obvious.

Nutrient foods that provide enough vitamins, antioxidants and fibers are necessary to help astronauts fight against a range of health problems In space, such as bone loss, muscle atrophy and cardiovascular dysfunction.

“If we can create an environment that nourishes astronauts physically and mentally, it will reduce stress and reduce the chances that people make mistakes. In space, the best case of an error is to waste money, and the worst case is the loss of life, “said Del Bianco.

Sending plants in space

The Moon-Rorice project is not the only promising effort to provide edible cultures in space. In 2022, NASA scientists found that Arabidopsis ThalianaA parent of mustard greens could to grow In the lunar regolith, the samples recovered from the moon, although showing some hiccups, such as slower growth than normal and slower roots.

THE Vegetable production systemA garden on the international space station, was also able to cultivate several plants, including three types of lettuce, Chinese cabbage and red Russian kale.

The future of space crops has another positive point, because Boulder, in Colorado Space Lab Technologies, was selected in 2024 to develop a payload which will study the growth of plants on the Moon. The payload, known as the name LEAF (Lunar effects on the agricultural flora), will be launched alongside the Artemis III mission of NASA in 2027.

Learn more:: Scientists cultivate the first plants in the lunar soil

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Jack Knudson is a deputy editor -in -chief to discover with a strong interest in environmental sciences and history. Before joining Discover in 2023, he studied journalism at the Ohio University Scripps College of Communication and previously interned at recycling Today Magazine