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Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
French team plans to hatch fish in space to test future Moon-based aquaculture
Now that tomatoes, lettuce, potatoes, and other veggies have been cultivated in space, how soon might astronauts begin raising fish on the ISS or the Moon? For the last few years, the innovative Lunar Hatch project has been raising the possibility of space-based fish farming. This ambitious project aims to prove the feasibility of sea bass aquaculture as a sustainable food solution for future Moon and Mars missions. The scientific project is spearheaded by Dr. Cyrille Przybyla, a researcher in marine biology for the French National Institute for Ocean Research (Ifremer). If all goes as planned, the Lunar Hatch could provide sea bass at least twice a week for the lunar inhabitants. In a seemingly ordinary tank at a French scientific facility near Palavas-les-Flots, sea bass fish are part of the Lunar Hatch project. Their future offspring are destined to be the first fish launched into space to investigate this bold idea's feasibility. Fish offers astronauts vital, easily digestible protein, omega-3s, and B vitamins for muscle maintenance in space. The key challenge is establishing food production so far from Earth. To address this challenge, Dr. Przybyla suggests sending fertilized sea bass eggs into space. Reportedly, the journey to the International Space Station would provide the time needed for them to hatch. Initially, these tiny "aquanauts" will be observed, then returned to Earth for analysis. But the ultimate goal is far grander: establishing lunar fish farms. It might sound like science fiction, but the groundwork has already been laid. The 2023 study by Przybyla definitively confirmed the sea bass eggs' ability to withstand weightlessness, a necessity for their journey into space. Moreover, the aquaculture-raised sea bass eggs successfully passed numerous tests, showing they can endure rocket launch and space travel conditions. Scientists at the University of Montpellier simulated the powerful propulsion of a Russian Soyuz rocket, proving that the vibrations wouldn't hinder the embryos' development. They also investigated the effects of cosmic radiation on fish cells during space travel. The current design plan suggests Lunar Hatch would consist of different radiation-proof compartments for various aquaculture functions, including wastewater management. One of the initial steps in Lunar Hatch's closed-loop system involves using water sourced from lunar polar ice in the fish tanks. The water used for raising the fish will be entirely recycled, ensuring that no water is wasted. To supply two weekly fish servings for seven astronauts on a 16-week mission, the Lunar Hatch team estimates a need for around 200 sea bass. The Guardian reported that the team aims to send 200 fertilized eggs to space. Back on Earth, a control group of 200 sibling fish will be carefully monitored for comparison. Sending aquatic life into space isn't entirely new. Reportedly, tiny mummichog fish were the first "aquastronauts" on an Apollo mission in 1973. Guppies, zebrafish, and other fish species have since followed, contributing to our understanding of biology in microgravity at ISS and China's Tiangong space station. However, this project is different as it looks into creating a sustainable food source for astronauts. Having completed most of the ground simulation tests, the next crucial step for the Lunar Hatch project is a real space mission. Przybyla and his team are now awaiting an opportunity with CNES and NASA's Kennedy Space Center to send their precious cargo into orbit. The exact timing remains uncertain, but the hope is for a launch in the near future. The Moon's harsh environment and numerous logistical hurdles mean it could take many years to establish such a facility. Nevertheless, the prospect of astronauts enjoying fresh, nutritious food grown on the Moon remains a compelling goal for future space exploration.
Business Mayor
29-04-2025
- Science
- Business Mayor
Sea bass in space: why fish farms on the moon may be closer than you think
A t first glance, there doesn't seem to be anything special about the sea bass circling around a tank in the small scientific facility on the outskirts of Palavas-les-Flots in southern France. But these fish are on a mission. When fully grown, they will produce offspring that will be the first to be launched into space as part of a scientific project called Lunar Hatch that is exploring whether sea bass can be farmed on the moon – and eventually Mars – as food for future astronauts. The project is the brainchild of Dr Cyrille Przybyla, a researcher in marine biology for the French National Institute for Ocean Research, who will be watching their progress like any anxious parent. 'Fish is an excellent source of protein because it is the animal organism that we digest the best and it has omega 3 and important B vitamins that will be needed for astronauts in space to maintain muscle mass,' Przybyla says. 'The question was: how can we produce food that far away?' The Lunar Hatch project is researching whether sea bass could be farmed on the moon as a source of protein for astronauts. Photograph: O Barbaroux/lfremer The answer is, he says, to blast the eggs into space where they will hatch in the time it takes to get to the International Space Station (ISS). Initially, the fish will simply be observed before being frozen and returned to Earth but eventually the idea is that they will be farmed on the moon. Przybyla is confident that should the world's space agencies decide to build a moon base, Lunar Hatch will be able to put sea bass on the menu at least twice a week. Sending fish into space is not new. The first 'aquastronauts' to make the journey were tiny fish known as mummichogs ( Fundulus heteroclitus ) sent into orbit on one of the Apollo missions in 1973. Until then, these small, unremarkable creatures had rarely ventured far from brackish creeks and coastal waters or salt marshes. Dr Cyrille Przybyla. Photograph: Cyrille Przybyla/lfremer Three years later, two Soyuz astronauts carried out a series of experiments with an aquarium of guppies in the Salyut Soviet space laboratory. In 2015, zebrafish were sent to the ISS to investigate how muscles atrophy in microgravity, while in April last year the Chinese sent several zebrafish to its Tiangong space station. Other missions have transported oyster toadfish, swordtails, medakas, guppies and goldfish. But this is the first time they could actually be farmed and used as a regular food source for astronauts. Przybyla says Lunar Hatch's ultimate aim is to create a 'closed-loop food chain' on the moon, using a series of compartments. The first tanks will be filled with water from ice found at the bottom of craters at the moon's poles. The wastewater produced by fish in these tanks will be used to produce micro-algae that can then be used to feed filtering organisms, including bivalves, or zooplankton would collect some of the waste. The faeces from the sea bass in the first tank would, meanwhile, be treated by shrimps and worms that would in turn be food for the fish. 'The aim of Lunar Hatch is to have no waste,' Przybyla says. 'Everything is recycled through an aquaculture system that would have to be autonomous for four to five months.' Read More Lost Maya city found 'hidden' deep inside Guatemalan jungle The team has calculated that to provide two portions of fish each week for seven astronauts on a mission lasting 16 weeks, about 200 sea bass would be needed. As well as the 200 fertilised sea bass eggs sent into space, another 200 siblings produced by the fish at Palavas-les-Flots will be kept as a control group. The path from slightly eccentric idea to the stage of development Przybyla's project has reached today has taken almost a decade. In 2016, the European Space Agency asked the scientific community for ideas for their future lunar base called the Moon Village. They liked Przybyla's proposal and, at the end of 2018, he received his first funding from the Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES) the French national space agency. A diagram showing the closed loop food chain The initial step was to establish whether the fertilised fish eggs could withstand being shaken about during a space launch; the nearby University of Montpellier's Space Centre agreed to simulate the propulsion of a Russian Soyuz rocket on its equipment used to test satellite prototypes. 'Soyuz makes the most vibrations at lift-off compared with other launchers. We used two species and embryos at two different stages and we saw the vibrations didn't affect their development,' Przybyla says. 'Then we looked at what else could disturb the fish cells on their journey, including hypergravity induced by acceleration and cosmic radiation and whether they would continue to form or whether their DNA and development would be affected.' So far the results obtained at Palavas-les-Flots are positive. Now, they need to be put into practice. Read More Newly discovered anatomy shields and monitors brain 'We've done all the possible simulations we can do on the ground so the goal now is to have a space mission to verify that data and so we can examine the difference between a control group of fish siblings that remain on the Earth,' he says. He and his juvenile sea bass must wait until CNES and Nasa's Kennedy Space Center in Florida find him a place on a mission, to test his theories. 'Unfortunately, we can't say when that will be but we hope it will be in the near future.' Since announcing the Lunar Hatch programme, the Chinese have revealed they too are carrying out research into closed circuit aquaculture systems that could be used on their space station – so the race is on. Sea bass eggs at 70 and 73 hours of development. The fish will travel to the moon at embryo stage, with hatching scheduled to taker place upon arrival. Photograph: D Dutto/lfremer For those who are more concerned about life on Earth, Przybyla says the Lunar Hatch programme has an equally vital application here. 'What we have done is converted a system we have been working on for the Earth to the moon,' he says. 'On Earth, this recycled circular loop aquaculture is important not only for preservation of the environment but also for economic durability. The same principle that applies for the moon could be used to feed isolated communities.'
The Guardian
28-04-2025
- Science
- The Guardian
Sea bass in space: why fish farms on the moon may be closer than you think
At first glance, there doesn't seem to be anything special about the sea bass circling around a tank in the small scientific facility on the outskirts of Palavas-les-Flots in southern France. But these fish are on a mission. When fully grown, they will produce offspring that will be the first to be launched into space as part of a scientific project called Lunar Hatch that is exploring whether sea bass can be farmed on the moon – and eventually Mars – as food for future astronauts. The project is the brainchild of Dr Cyrille Przybyla, a researcher in marine biology for the French National Institute for Ocean Research, who will be watching their progress like any anxious parent. 'Fish is an excellent source of protein because it is the animal organism that we digest the best and it has omega 3 and important B vitamins that will be needed for astronauts in space to maintain muscle mass,' Przybyla says. 'The question was: how can we produce food that far away?' The answer is, he says, to blast the eggs into space where they will hatch in the time it takes to get to the International Space Station (ISS). Initially, the fish will simply be observed before being frozen and returned to Earth but eventually the idea is that they will be farmed on the moon. Przybyla is confident that should the world's space agencies decide to build a moon base, Lunar Hatch will be able to put sea bass on the menu at least twice a week. Sending fish into space is not new. The first 'aquastronauts' to make the journey were tiny fish known as mummichogs (Fundulus heteroclitus) sent into orbit on one of the Apollo missions in 1973. Until then, these small, unremarkable creatures had rarely ventured far from brackish creeks and coastal waters or salt marshes. Three years later, two Soyuz astronauts carried out a series of experiments with an aquarium of guppies in the Salyut Soviet space laboratory. In 2015, zebrafish were sent to the ISS to investigate how muscles atrophy in microgravity, while in April last year the Chinese sent several zebrafish to its Tiangong space station. Other missions have transported oyster toadfish, swordtails, medakas, guppies and goldfish. But this is the first time they could actually be farmed and used as a regular food source for astronauts. Przybyla says Lunar Hatch's ultimate aim is to create a 'closed-loop food chain' on the moon, using a series of compartments. The first tanks will be filled with water from ice found at the bottom of craters at the moon's poles. The wastewater produced by fish in these tanks will be used to produce micro-algae that can then be used to feed filtering organisms, including bivalves, or zooplankton would collect some of the waste. The faeces from the sea bass in the first tank would, meanwhile, be treated by shrimps and worms that would in turn be food for the fish. 'The aim of Lunar Hatch is to have no waste,' Przybyla says. 'Everything is recycled through an aquaculture system that would have to be autonomous for four to five months.' The team has calculated that to provide two portions of fish each week for seven astronauts on a mission lasting 16 weeks, about 200 sea bass would be needed. As well as the 200 fertilised sea bass eggs sent into space, another 200 siblings produced by the fish at Palavas-les-Flots will be kept as a control group. The path from slightly eccentric idea to the stage of development Przybyla's project has reached today has taken almost a decade. In 2016, the European Space Agency asked the scientific community for ideas for their future lunar base called the Moon Village. They liked Przybyla's proposal and, at the end of 2018, he received his first funding from the Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES) the French national space agency. The initial step was to establish whether the fertilised fish eggs could withstand being shaken about during a space launch; the nearby University of Montpellier's Space Centre agreed to simulate the propulsion of a Russian Soyuz rocket on its equipment used to test satellite prototypes. 'Soyuz makes the most vibrations at lift-off compared with other launchers. We used two species and embryos at two different stages and we saw the vibrations didn't affect their development,' Przybyla says. 'Then we looked at what else could disturb the fish cells on their journey, including hypergravity induced by acceleration and cosmic radiation and whether they would continue to form or whether their DNA and development would be affected.' So far the results obtained at Palavas-les-Flots are positive. Now, they need to be put into practice. 'We've done all the possible simulations we can do on the ground so the goal now is to have a space mission to verify that data and so we can examine the difference between a control group of fish siblings that remain on the Earth,' he says. He and his juvenile sea bass must wait until CNES and Nasa's Kennedy Space Center in Florida find him a place on a mission, to test his theories. 'Unfortunately, we can't say when that will be but we hope it will be in the near future.' Since announcing the Lunar Hatch programme, the Chinese have revealed they too are carrying out research into closed circuit aquaculture systems that could be used on their space station – so the race is on. For those who are more concerned about life on Earth, Przybyla says the Lunar Hatch programme has an equally vital application here. 'What we have done is converted a system we have been working on for the Earth to the moon,' he says. 'On Earth, this recycled circular loop aquaculture is important not only for preservation of the environment but also for economic durability. The same principle that applies for the moon could be used to feed isolated communities.'
