On-campus
Summer School Space Farming: Food for Mars and Moon
To thrive on Mars, we must learn to cultivate the land, just as we do on Earth! Through engaging lectures and hands-on activities, you'll have the opportunity to collaborate with multidisciplinary experts and brainstorm creative solutions for future off-world food production.
This course explores the innovative intersection of a wide range of fields, including agriculture, plant sciences, space sciences, biology, environmental science, and food science. It also explores cutting-edge topics relevant to Earth, such as circular agriculture, vertical farming, and innovative strategies for addressing extreme climate challenges.
This course not only opens your mind to the possibilities of space agriculture but also provides knowledge to develop innovative solutions for existing and potential future challenges on Earth!
Registration is not open for this course. You can already show your interest for our next edition.The information on the webpage refers to the 2024 edition.
The 'From Moon to Mars' course transformed my curiosity about agriculture in extreme conditions into actionable research.
Target audience
Are you a curious student (BSc, MSc, or PhD), a visionary researcher, or someone passionate about caring for our Earth? Whether you're interested in agriculture, food science, or the future of space exploration and advanced technologies, Space Farming: Food for Mars and the Moon welcomes everyone!
Whatever your background, join a community for brainstorms to explore forward-thinking ideas and plant the seeds for a sustainable future both in space and on Earth!
Learning outcomes
After successful completion of this programme, you will be able to:
- Open your mind to apply the knowledge gained to develop innovative solutions for space agriculture and address existing and potential future problems on Earth.
- Understand the challenges and possibilities of producing food in space, and raise awareness about the importance of space agriculture and its implications for future space exploration.
- Learn about advanced technologies and breakthroughs from various related fields, such as the latest food production techniques, sustainable agricultural ecosystems, and circular agriculture, which can provide new solutions for challenges in extreme environments like Mars.
- Discover strategies for growing food using resources that might be available on other planets, while gaining hands-on experience in growing plants, analyzing and interpreting data.
- Collaborate on projects, learn from peers and share insights effectively.
- Enhance your innovative capacity by discussing and seeking out new ideas; facilitate knowledge transfer and exchange to generate creative solutions.
Programme
The course will last for two weeks and will include:
- Lectures: Each morning, we will give lectures covering three fascinating topics: the potential for life beyond Earth, sustainable food production in space, and innovative technologies in agriculture, including computational fluid dynamics, 3D food printing, and cell factories.
- Hands-On Experiments: Afternoon sessions will involve experiments related to the morning lectures, fostering practical understanding and innovation. You will learn techniques for working with Martian regolith simulants and conducting experiments on the possibility of using them as substrates for food production.
- Site Visits: Engage in a series of exciting visits to innovative and educational sites
- Group Assignments: Work collaboratively in teams to apply lecture knowledge and develop creative proposals for future food production in space. There will be a place for brainstorming, where you can exchange ideas with your peers.
Please download the flyer for the full programme.
Certification
After the summer school, everybody will have the incredible honor of receiving a certificate and a mission patch to commemorate your participation.
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The lectures were extremely interesting and inspiring, covering topics such as the use of microorganisms in space crime or the relevance of working on analog missions. I also learned techniques for working with lunar and Martian regolith simulants during an experiment conducted in a greenhouse on the possibility of using them as a substrate to produce food for astronauts in extraterrestrial habitats. Our group used the recycled Mars regolith simulant MMS-1 and our garden cress crop looked really good. What's more, I met wonderful people from all over the world, as the workshop brought together participants from 10 countries!
The two weeks of enthralling lectures ended with the completion of a challenge project on sustainable agricultural ecosystems, where my teammates and I investigated the requirements to build such an ecosystem on the Moon and Mars. The inspiration came from already advanced Environmental Control and Life Support Systems like MELiSSA Space Research Program
The more we involve people in the conversation about food production in space, the more innovative ideas will emerge.