MATSUDO, Chiba - Chiba University's Matsudo campus has launched the research center for Space Agriculture and Horticulture, anticipating an era when people will stay on the moon for long periods.
With a faculty of Horticulture, the university will explore food production technology in the extraterrestrial environment, utilizing the knowledge and expertise it has accumulated as the only national university in Japan that has a Faculty of Horticulture.
By the 2030s, the institution forecasts that about 100 to 1000 people will live on the moon, while food security has become an international issue.
The research center will use advanced equipment, including low gravity and low pressure, to recreate the space environment. The research will be conducted in three areas: space horticulture breeding, which aims to create varieties that can grow in such an environment; high-efficiency production methods and zero-emission technology to recycle limited resources.
A research facility specializing in food production technology for space is rare in Japan, Chiba University said.
We hope that our research results will also lead to efficient and stable food production on Earth that is not affected by typhoons, insect pests or other factors, said Hideyuki Takahashi, director of the research center at the campus in Matsudo, Japan. The center also plans to conduct joint research with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and other organizations that are studying unmanned cultivation technology and recycling methods for the purpose of realizing a moon farm.