ENEA, the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, has achieved a major breakthrough in space agriculture, creating a special “space tomato” that is able to resist space radiation and thrive in extraterrestrial environments.
Named “San Marziano” by ENEA scientists, the tomato was developed as part of the Hortspace and BioxTreme projects funded by the Italian Space Agency. The research, which began in 2014, aimed at finding ways to grow food plants adequately in space. The result was a “compact” tomato with a greater number of anthocyanins, which are powerful antioxidants, and with negligible variations in growth and photosynthesis.
Silvia Massa, a scientist at the ENEA Biotechnology Laboratory, explained that the new “space tomato” was created in collaboration with the University of Amsterdam – Swammerdam. The team managed to ‘rekindle’ the biosynthesis of anthocyanins in the tomato, thus obtaining a biofortified tomato capable of withstanding the harsh conditions of space.
This breakthrough is significant as conducting long missions in space can be physically problematic for humans due to the harmful effects of space radiation and microgravity. Additionally, NASA experiments on plants outside the terrestrial environment have been limited to microbiological evaluations on edible species, but not to the performance of plants and derived foods.
The creation of the “space tomato” by ENEA opens up new possibilities for sustainable food production in space, providing essential nutrients and antioxidants for astronauts during long missions. It is a pioneering step in the development of space agriculture and could have far-reaching implications for future space exploration missions.
The successful development of the “San Marziano” tomato showcases the potential of biotechnology and agriculture in addressing the challenges of space travel and paves the way for further research and innovation in space farming.