The Canadian Space Agency joins international effort to advance space agriculture
Astronauts on long-duration missions beyond Earth will need to grow their own food. To help address this challenge, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) is working with international partners to develop technologies that support food production in space, including water and nutrients recycling, energy management and automated crop production.
These innovations also have the potential to benefit communities on Earth, particularly in remote and isolated regions – such as northern communities – where access to fresh produce is limited.
As part of this effort, the CSA, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have signed a joint statement of intent to coordinate preparatory activities towards the development of an Earth-based test facility that simulates a lunar agricultural environment. This facility will enable researchers to test crop-production technologies, resource-recycling systems and operational concepts relevant to future lunar habitats.
The knowledge gained will help advance key capabilities needed toward for future deep-space exploration while also potentially contributing to more sustainable and agricultural systems on Earth.