Summer School Space Farming: Food for Mars and Moon

Are you a curious student (BSc, MSc, or PhD), a visionary researcher, or someone passionate about caring for our Earth? Whether you're interested in agriculture, food science, or the future of space exploration and advanced technologies, Space Farming: Food for Mars and the Moon welcomes everyone!

Whatever your background, join a community for brainstorms to explore forward-thinking ideas and plant the seeds for a sustainable future both in space and on Earth!

• Understand the challenges and possibilities of producing food in space, and raise awareness about the importance of space agriculture and its implications for future space exploration.
• Learn about advanced technologies and breakthroughs from various related fields, such as the latest food production techniques, sustainable agricultural ecosystems, and circular agriculture, which can provide new solutions for challenges in extreme environments like Mars.
• Open your mind to apply the knowledge gained to develop innovative solutions for space agriculture and address existing and potential future problems on Earth.
• Discover strategies for growing food using resources that might be available on other planets, while gaining hands-on experience in growing plants, analyzing and interpreting data.
• Collaborate on projects, learn from peers and share insights effectively.
• Enhance your innovative capacity by discussing and seeking out new ideas; facilitate knowledge transfer and exchange to generate creative solutions.

The course will last for two weeks and will include:

• Lectures: Each morning, we will give lectures covering three fascinating topics: the potential for life beyond Earth, sustainable food production in space, and innovative technologies in agriculture, including computational fluid dynamics, 3D food printing, and cell factories.
• Hands-On Experiments: Afternoon sessions will involve experiments related to the morning lectures, fostering practical understanding and innovation. You will learn techniques for working with Martian regolith simulants and conducting experiments on the possibility of using them as substrates for food production.
• Site Visits: Engage in a series of exciting visits to innovative and educational sites
• Group Assignments: Work collaboratively in teams to apply lecture knowledge and develop creative proposals for future food production in space. There will be a place for brainstorming, where you can exchange ideas with your peers.

Please download the flyer for the full programme.

After the summer school, everybody will have the incredible honor of receiving a certificate and a mission patch to commemorate your participation.