Japan Public-Private Research Institute Plans Food Production Exploration On The Moon

Illustration of food production. (Unsplash/@pauleinerhand)

JAKARTA - The Japanese government and the space agency (JAXA) will join hands with food and technology companies to launch research on developing sustainable food sources on the Moon, in a bid to encourage the private sector to enter the space business, said a source with direct knowledge of the plan.

Joint public-private studies could begin in March, spearheaded by Space Foodsphere, a Tokyo-based space food research group made up of dozens of entities, including the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, the maker of the Ajinomoto Co. seasoning. and systems integrator NTT Data Corp., the source.

Tech startups such as bio-venture Euglena Co. is also among the participants in the project to be funded by the government, as quoted by Kyodo News Aug. 11.

The basic research was designed to meet the demand for food supplies on the Moon for long-range missions involving large numbers of crew members, which would make constant food deliveries from Earth impractical.

Long-term travel to the Moon is becoming increasingly possible, with lunar exploration projects launched by the United States, China and other countries.

Farm illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/MaryamSaleel2002)

Meanwhile, Japan is involved in the NASA-led Artemis program, which outlines the exploration and utilization of resources in outer space including those on the Moon.

"The public-private team will start research at a domestic facility and then be able to move to locations similar to the lunar environment, such as Antarctica," the source said.

Their study aims to help develop technology to operate crop plants for indoor crops on the Moon, where temperatures below minus 100 Celsius lack the water and air needed to grow crops.

In addition, this study will also cover how to maintain a healthy mental and physical condition in a confined space for a long period of time. This technology, if developed, is also expected to solve agricultural problems under desertification and climate change on Earth.

In the private sector, the founder and former CEO of Amazon.com Inc. Jeff Bezos last month flew into space on a rocket and capsule developed by his private space company, Blue Origin.

Meanwhile, Japanese entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa also plans to orbit the Moon in the world's first private spacewalk, organized by US company SpaceX for the year 2023.

To note, the global space industry is expected to generate more than $1 trillion in revenue by 2040, up from $350 billion today, according to a Morgan Stanley report.