• luna agriculture, lunar development, space development, space food, space station, JAXA, algae

Development of compact algae culture equipment for use in space

Background issues

    ‘Humans living on the moon’, will be one of the next themes for space development. In order to stay in an environment with limited room and resources, food (especially protein) supply system is a topic that we cannot overlook. Highly efficient and compact way of producing protein in a self-supporting system is required.

Our technologies

  • Algae culture technology
  • Biofilm cultivation technology
  • Culture equipment designing technology

Current status

    Started “Development of a small scale and efficient protein production platform utilizing edible microalga, Spirulina” collaboration development with JAXA from November 2018.

Locations

Japan

partner

JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), IHI AEROSPACE Co., Ltd., FUJIMORI KOGYO Co,.LTD.

MessagePICK UP PERSON

  • Takanori Hoshino

    Most of the research and business projects I have been involved in so far were to use algae-based biomass “to create target object as cheaply as possible” as top priority. When I think of anything related to the project, I always have to keep this idea in mind as the most important point. For this project however, the top priority is ‘to make the target object as efficient as possible’. We have to consider how to save resources, time, and room while proliferating algae. Although there are some limitations, to make something of high quality while keeping the cost relatively low, being ‘partially’ released from the chains of profitability feels like a dream! Using the saying ‘they who delight in it are better than those who know it’ as an excuse, I am looking forward to make the best out of this rare opportunity.

  • Hitoshi Matsumoto

    Space development. Who will not be jazzed by this word. Of course, the one going to space may be the technology instead of me, but still I feel that it is equivalent to my soul being launched up into space. For a long time, I have been wanting to make the universe more accessible and more realistic, and have been thinking about the flow in development of space agriculture. For this project we will first improve algae cultivation technology on earth, but we intend to steadily overcome this, and one after another we will work on research that will become the core of space agriculture. To be in this era that is too late to explore the earth and too early to explore space, I want to make my dream of going to space, which I had almost given up, come true.

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