Brazilian scientists are developing crop production technologies for space.

The project involves specialists from the Instituto Agronômico de Campinas (IAC), Embrapa, the Brazilian Space Agency, and other scientific organizations. The primary goal of the experts is to prepare plant cultivars capable of producing a harvest under the resource-limited conditions typical of space flights and the colonization of planets such as Mars or the Moon. Chickpeas and sweet potatoes have been selected as priority crops: they have high nutritional value and do not require bee pollination. Particular attention is paid to purple sweet potato cultivars containing anthocyanins, which, according to research, help protect seed from the effects of cosmic radiation.

Experiments are conducted in enclosed environments using artificial lighting and soil-less cultivation methods. Instead of traditional soil, agronomists use a substrate based on coconut fiber, and plant nutrition is provided through an irrigation system. Scientists aim to develop more compact, high-yield, and fast-growing cultivars. According to agronomist Luis Felipe Villani Purquerio, who works at IAC, reducing plant size allows for the most efficient use of space within confined space greenhouses.

In parallel, specialists are engaged in breeding to increase crop stress tolerance. Augusto Tulmann Neto from the Center for Nuclear Energy in Agriculture (CENA) uses gamma-ray seed treatment technology to induce beneficial mutations that can ensure plant survival during water shortages or temperature fluctuations. The developers believe that the solutions created within the space program will help farmers on Earth adapt to the consequences of climate change, including extreme heat, droughts, and unpredictable weather conditions that negatively affect agricultural production volumes.