Global scientists have developed a new 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.
Published today in New Phytologist, the project brings together more than 40 scientists from 11 countries and seven space agencies, who outline the plant science breakthroughs needed to create self-sustaining, plant-based life-support systems for deep space exploration. These systems would grow fresh food, recycle water and air and support astronaut health and wellbeing.
To guide future missions, the authors introduce a new Bioregenerative Life Support System (BLSS) Readiness Level framework, expanding NASA's existing crop evaluation scale to measure how effectively plants can recycle nutrients, purify water, generate oxygen and provide nutrition in space habitats.
The study highlights recent advances in crop science for space, including synthetic biology approaches, precision sensing systems and controlled-environment agriculture.
It also outlines priority research areas ahead of NASA's Artemis III mission in 2027, when humans are set to return to the Moon for the first time in 55 years. The mission includes the Lunar Effects on Agricultural Flora (LEAF) experiment – the first attempt to grow and return plants from the lunar surface.
Co-author University of Melbourne Associate Professor Sigfredo Fuentes, together with colleagues from across the international consortium, examined how plants can be engineered, adapted and monitored to thrive in lunar and Martian environments.
Lead author Dr Luke Fountain, a NASA Postdoctoral Fellow at the Kennedy Space Centre said: "By learning to grow plants in space, we're also improving the way we grow food on our own planet. The technologies we develop for the Moon and Mars will help tackle global challenges in food, energy and sustainability."
Associate Professor Fuentes, from the School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences, said designing plant systems for the Moon offers powerful insights for improving agriculture on Earth.
"Space pushes us to design plant systems that are highly efficient, resilient and precisely monitored," Associate Professor Fuentes said. "This work will help us grow food sustainably in drought-prone regions, cities and remote communities."
Co-author Professor Matthew Gilliham, Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plants for Space, said technologies developed for space exploration will also drive a more sustainable future on Earth.
"The innovations that will keep astronauts alive on the Moon, such as closed-loop farming, recycling and resource efficiency, are the same technologies that will transform how we grow food and medicines on demand anywhere on Earth, from inner cities to remote regions, at any time of year," Professor Gilliham said.
The research builds on discussions from the International Space Life Sciences Working Group (ISLSWG) Plants for Space Exploration workshop, held during the 2024 European Low Gravity Research Association conference.
