Akihabara News (Tokyo) — Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture has joined the space race with a subsidy program for the development of food production methods on the Moon and Mars.
The ministry explains, “In order for Japan to contribute to the international community, enhance its presence, and strengthen its competitiveness, it is necessary to promote the technological development required on the Moon and Mars. One of the important factors is the technology to achieve high quality of life while securing stable food.”
The winner of the public tender offering, presumably a domestic research institute, will receive up to ¥310 million (US$2.8 million) in taxpayer funding over five years.
The government envisions a need for food sources to be developed which do not depend on deliveries from Earth. This food might be cultivated in underground bases on the Moon and Mars, perhaps including lab-grown meat made from extracted cells of animals like cows and pigs, as well as the production of foods like rice, soy beans, and produce.
The recycling of organic waste will likely be critical to these efforts.
In August, it was reported that Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) would link up with Space Foodsphere, a Tokyo-based space food research group, with the aim of creating sustainable food sources on the Moon.
JAXA plans to establish a base on the Moon in the first half of the 2030s, and ambitious startups like ispace hope to push the timeline for Moon bases as much forward as possible.
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