that risotto eats on the moon. And they already investigate a supereno and more protein rice

We continue to have the colonization of the bodies that surround us between eyebrow and eyebrow. For a while, Mars became the “Manifest destination” of the United Statesbut the moon has returned to the first position of extraterrestrial colonization. Is the reason for being of the Artemis missionand it is evident that the moon has much to offer in the form of minerals and energy. But to be able to establish ourselves in the satellite, there is a fundamental step: Cultivate food on the moon.

And now Italy has presented The main ingredient of food on the moon: rice.

Space farmers. NASA wants to return to the moon, Europe and Russia also. AND China is making great advances. And something that all nations are exploring is how to grow in the lunar soil, from potential food to tobacco, how is China exploring. Lunar soil is hostile because there are no nutrients, so in the past We have experienced with worms and fungi to do the first fertilization work.

The idea is to make the regolito, Something very valuable To create materials and leading element of the lunar soil, it is more fertile, but while we find the way, from the Italian Space Agency (like) they have had another idea: to create varieties of dwarf rice by genetic edition to grow in the conditions of the moon.

Miniarrocera. The initiative led by the Italian organism implies a joint investigation with universities such as Milan, Roma Sapienza and Naples Federico II, and the objective is to develop a variety of supersenan rice that grows in microgravity conditionsas well as in extremely reduced spaces such as those that can occur in lunar bases.

The idea is to maximize production in an extremely narrow space, and that is why they seek to reduce the size of the plant as possible without affecting the amount of rice it can give. A rice plant can reach heights between 70 and 150 centimeters, but the research objective is that the maximum size of those lunar plants is about 10 centimeters.

Overcome. Beyond achieving a very compact size, the project seeks to modify the genetics of the plant so that the resulting rice is more nutritious than what we have on Earth. For example, that has a superior protein contribution, something that the “normal” rice suffers.

Samples of this miniarroz

Difficult. For this project baptized as ‘Moon-Rice’, each of the centers deals with a task. The University of Milan isolates mutant varieties with dwarfism; The University of Rome identifies the best genes to achieve maximum performance despite the size and that of Naples contributes its experience in space crops (such as the Melissa project of ESAwhich simulates closed ecosystems to recycle air and water in long -term missions).

But, although promising candidates have already been identified to modify, such as the Japanese dwarf variety kozosumikathis miniaturization presents multiple challenges. Alter the gibberelin of the plant (the plant hormone that allows regulating the height) can also affect production, being that balance between dwarfism and maximum productivity the balance so delicate that must be managed in the laboratory.

Terrestrial applications. As it happens so many times when a technology is developed or explored for lunar use, we also see potential for use within the atmosphere. For example, developing a rice that occupies little space, that is more nutritious and more resistant than usual, can be useful for both Urban agriculture as, above all, for the development of crops in arid areas of the Earth.

And, beyond this moon-rice that is in initial phases, it is evident that Italy is taking seriously lunar exploration. As a member of ESA, it is collaborating with other agencies that also have interest in the satellite. An example is the interest at the Mohammed Bin Rashid space center of the United Arab Emirates to promote exploration on the Moon, but also a contract With the Thales Satellite manufacturer Alenia Space to develop a habitability module to operate in the lunar base as part of the Artemis program.

It only remains to be seen if, in that Lunar module of Italy, the risotto is the main dish. And, who knows, beyond being a source of food, that the ‘inhabitants’ of the moon see green can have positive effects on their mental health during long -term missions.

Images | University of Milan, THAT

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