2026 Undergraduate Research Showcase

Space Agriculture in Microgravity Environments

Document Type

Student Presentation

Presentation Date

4-24-2026

Faculty Sponsor

Dr. Sondra Miller

Abstract

Ongoing human exploration missions expanding past Earth, such as the NASA Artemis program aiming to establish a sustained human presence on the Moon and prepare future missions to Mars, developing reliable food production and resource recycling systems to support astronauts on long-duration missions is becoming increasingly critical. Space agriculture focuses on the study of cultivating plants in extraterrestrial environments or aboard a spacecraft, focusing on the development of sustainable closed-loop food systems that provide fresh foods, oxygen, and resource recycling while also reducing the reliance on resupply missions from Earth. However, designing such systems presents challenges due to the harsh space environment, which can degrade materials and complicate plant cultivation techniques that are usually used on Earth. Factors such as microgravity and radiation affect both the material durability in the closed-loop systems and the availability of resources needed for plant growth. Addressing these challenges through continued research is essential for advancing space agriculture technologies that can support future exploration missions, while also driving innovations in sustainable agriculture on Earth.

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