SpaceX astronauts aim to grow edible mushrooms in space on Fram2 mission
By Jano Gibson
Topic:Space Exploration
9m ago9 minutes agoTue 25 Mar 2025 at 10:37pm
A SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule manoeuvres in space following undocking from the ISS to begin a journey to return to Earth.
A small box containing the material to grow mushrooms and the root-like structure of fungus will be stowed on board a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule. (Reuters: NASA)
In short:
Scientists are trying to identify the best crops and farming techniques for future space travel to the Moon and Mars.
They believe mushrooms could be the perfect crop as they can be grown rapidly in confined spaces and provide many health and culinary benefits.
What's next?
Astronauts will try to grow oyster mushrooms in space for the first time when SpaceX's Fram2 mission launches next week.
When SpaceX launches its next mission in the coming days, it will include an Australian-led experiment that could have significant ramifications for the future of space exploration.
The Fram2 mission, scheduled to blast off from Cape Canaveral in Florida next Monday local time, is already aiming to make history by becoming the first human space flight to orbit the Earth's polar regions.
But the four-person team of amateur astronauts, including Australian Eric Philips, will also be attempting another novel achievement.
"We're attempting to 'fruit' mushrooms in space for the very first time," Dr Flavia Fayet-Moore said.
The nutrition scientist, who heads Australian company FoodiQ Global, submitted a successful expression-of-interest to undertake the project on the upcoming mission.
Under the plan, a small box containing substrate — the material used to grow mushrooms — and mycelium — the root-like structure of fungus — will be stowed on board SpaceX's Dragon capsule.
Dr Flavia Fayet-Moore smiles at the camera.
Dr Flavia Fayet-Moore says the aim is to create a "sustainable, nutiritious and delicious food supply" for exploration missions. (Supplied: FoodiQ Global)
Part-way through the four-day mission, the box will be inspected to see whether the tiny "pins" of fungus have fruited into oyster mushrooms while flying 450 kilometres above the Earth.
"I will monitor how the fruiting bodies grow, documenting development rate, signs of contamination, and various other properties," said Mr Phillips, who is an experienced polar explorer.
"As an advocate for exploration, this is an exciting opportunity to push the boundaries and play a role in creating sustainable food solutions for space — something I never imagined I would explore".
Once the team returns to Earth, the oyster mushrooms will be sent to a lab to assess the effects of space on their growth, biochemistry, genetics and nutritional value.
Mushroom substrate block with a sticker.
Mushroom substrate block, which will be sent to space aboard SpaceX Dragon. (Supplied: FoodiQ Global)
The information gleaned from "Mission MushVroom" will add to previous experiments that focused on the medical and material benefits of fungi in space.
"The reason why we're researching this is to really create a sustainable, nutritious and delicious food supply for the exploration missions to the Moon and Mars,"
Dr Fayet-Moore said.
The Fram2 mission will also involve about 20 other experiments, including:
the first X-rays of humans in space
performing exercise studies to maintain muscle and skeletal mass
exiting the Dragon capsule without assistance after returning to Earth
using a mobile MRI device to assess how spaceflight impacts brain anatomy
analysing how female reproductive hormones are impacted by microgravity and radiation
'The perfect space crop'
Future space travel will require crops that can be grown in confined spaces, harvested quickly and provide nutritional and culinary benefits to astronauts.
"In space, NASA is only prioritising crops that you can literally pick and eat because we don't have the capabilities to process food in microgravity yet," Dr Fayet-Moore said.
Mushrooms have the potential to meet those requirements, she said.
"They are the perfect space crop.
"Many plants take over 100 days to get [to] harvest, whereas mushrooms can have an end-to-end cycle of only 30 days.
"And they can supply the astronauts with that food, but uniquely, what's really exciting from a nutrition perspective, is that they have nutrients found across the food groups."
A capsule in space
Dr Flavia Fayet-Moore says mushrooms are the "perfect space crop". (Supplied: NASA/Kjell Lindgren)
The oyster mushroom experiment on Fram2 is part of a global initiative examining the best way to support long-term human exploration in space.
"Mushrooms are a really critical part of thinking about that whole circular system of how we feed and support people long term," Jenny Mortimer, a professor at the University of Adelaide, said.
To the Moon and beyond
Professor Mortimer is also a chief investigator at the Australian Research Council's Centre of Excellence in Plants for Space.
Her team is involved in a separate experiment that will include several plant species being sent to the Moon during NASA's Artemis III mission, which is scheduled to launch in 2027.
The mission involves a plan for astronauts to spend a week on the Moon's surface to conduct scientific experiments.
In one of those projects, duckweed and two other plants will be cultivated in a specially-designed growth chamber on the Moon.
Samples will then be returned to Earth to analyse how the "hostile" space environment affects them.
Jenny Mortimer looks at the camera.
Professor Jenny Mortimer and her team are involved in a separate experiment that will include several plant species being sent to the Moon in 2027. (Supplied)
"There's radiation, there's the lunar gravity, there's lots of things we can't really replicate very easily here on Earth to understand how they grow,"
Professor Mortimer said.
She said identifying the best crops and farming techniques for space travel was critical for extended, self-sufficient trips to places such as Mars, which could take several years to complete.
"It's really hard to plan for everything you need on these types of missions," she said.
"So you need some ability to make the things that you might need."
The lessons learned from the experiments on Fram2 and Artemis III could also lead to improved farming techniques on Earth, she said.
Posted9m ago9 minutes agoTue 25 Mar 2025 at 10:37pm, updated5m ago5 minutes agoTue 25 Mar 2025 at 10:41pm
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