Food is a primary concern when trying to figure out how humans can survive living in space for extended periods of time and possibly explore new planets. Innovations meant to address the nutritional needs of astronauts, like preserving freshness by freeze-drying foods, have ended up in the kitchens of people living on Earth. But that’s not the only way in which space exploration has informed agricultural production.

Today in The Conversation Canada, Ajwal Dsouza and Thomas Graham at the University of Guelph detail the ways in which various astronomical sciences have had an influence on terrestrial farming. They explain that information gathered by satellites can record environmental changes and help predict the weather. And in the face of rising food insecurity and extreme weather conditions brought about by climate change, “the renewed interest in space can only benefit agriculture here on Earth by providing new opportunities to improve agriculture.”

Also today:

Regards,

Nehal El-Hadi

Science + Technology Editor

Satellite imagery monitors environmental changes to inform agricultural decisions. Agricultural patterns are distinctly visible in this near-vertical false colour infrared photography of farmland south of Khartoum, Sudan. (JSC/NASA)

Space agriculture boldly grows food where no one has grown before

Ajwal Dsouza, University of Guelph; Thomas Graham, University of Guelph

Technologies being developed for growing food in space have contributed to advances in agriculture and crops on Earth.

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The use of virtual reality and augmented reality in environmental education is controversial, but there are clear benefits.

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