New Crops, Health Research Proposals to Help NASA Advance Exploration

NASA has chosen 12 new research projects to aid human exploration in space. Six initiatives concentrate on growing food off-world, while the remaining six strive to comprehend the health implications of space travel. The food-oriented projects, funded by NASA's Space Crops grants, align with the agency's aim of utilizing plants for enhanced life in space and lunar/Mars exploration.

Specific proposals scrutinize the growth, physiology, and microbes of edible plants under space conditions, investigate extreme drought-resistant plants, and explore algae gene functions altered by spaceflight, potentially integrating biological solutions into life-support systems. The health-focused set comprises investigations on how lunar dust affects respiratory, immune, and inflammation responses, repurposed drugs to counteract space travel impacts, studies on radiation's effects on aging organs, and molecular and cellular changes due to space stressors that modify gene expression or protein function.

Researchers from ten institutions in eight states will lead the biological studies, with nine receiving funding for the first time. The grants total over $7 million and span fiscal years 2026-2030. NASA's Biological and Physical Sciences Division conducts space investigations inaccessible on Earth, advancing fundamental scientific knowledge for extended and safe space exploration, while also benefiting life on Earth.