EXPO: “Space plants” take center stage
5/11/2015
November 5th, 2015
ENEA’s “space vegetable gardens” took center stage at EXPO Milan 2015, in the presence of the astronauts Maurizio Cheli and Paolo Nespoli.
Tomatoes that can withstand the extreme conditions of space, able to produce antidote molecules with anti-aging properties.
Roots capable of synthesizing antibodies and immunostimulants with very high added value, resistant to high doses of gamma radiation.
These and other “space vegetable gardens” were at the heart of the event “Space bears fruits”, that highlighted the excellence of the aerospace sector of Latium, an important part in the economy of the Region, with over 5 billion euro of turnover and thirty thousand people employed in 250 companies.
Two sectors of excellence at ENEA, such as “agrospace” and agricolture 3.0, were key players in the closing stages of EXPO Milan 2015. “The research we have conducted in this sector and the results obtained with our Vertical Farm can contribute to improving food production and quality” remarked Eugenio Benvenuto, present as Head of the ENEA Biotechnologies Laboratory.
During the month celebrating the World Food Day ENEA intended to highlight the key role that innovation can play in promoting agricultural production in urban areas, considering that by 2050 80% of the 9 billion world’s population is expected to be urban.
“The challenge for us in the future will not only be to produce food in space, but also to increase food quality”.
Thanks to its multi-level design, the ENEA Vertical Farm could help in meeting food demand of rapidly growing urban population, since it can be placed on both new and existing buildings to produce a high yield of crops in a small surface area.
In addition, the hydroponics cultivation system - recycling water and nutrients without the use of pesticides - helps guarantee high quality, non-toxic food produce and increasing water efficiency compared to traditional soil cultivation.
The event held at EXPO was organized by the Latium Region, Lazio Innova, Aero Sekur and Aerospace Research Center of La Sapienza Rome University in collaboration with ENEA, European Space Agency (ESA), Controlled Environment Agriculture Center (CEAC), Italian Space Agency (ASI), the CNR, Rome University Tor Vergata and Università della Tuscia.
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Video: Space Roots