compounds. However, the conventional growth pace ofplants, particularly field crops, poses a significant challengeto this method. “If your plant takes four or five months togo from seed to seed, it takes you forever,” Jenny says.“THE CHALLENGE IS TO PRODUCEA NO-OR-LOW-ALCOHOLPRODUCT THAT PROVIDES A WINELIKE EXPERIENCE WITHOUT THEDOWNSIDES OF ALCOHOL.”Duckweed became a logical focal point for its small sizeand entirely edible composition, and because it is capableof continuous growth, high protein production, and isadaptable to indoor environments. Beyond growth speed,duckweed’s rich composition of essential amino acidsmakes it a potent protein source, allowing for continuousgrowth and up to 60 times more protein productioncompared to traditional crops like soybean. Jenny says thismakes it a suitable consideration for space exploration.- ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR PAUL GRBINso the astronauts would start to lose weight. So there’s a lotof interest in trying to grow plants as you go.“Space is the ultimate in sustainability when you’rethinking about producing things; you can only usethe resources you have there and you have to recycleeverything because you can’t get more of anything. Andthat’s a really good way of thinking about the on-Earthapplications, because it really inspires you to problem solvefor sustainability in the space context. And we can use thatlearning to help us inform what’s possible on Earth.”The challenge of sustaining humans on a trip to Marsprompts the exploration of growing plants in space. Withweight limitations and addressing nutrient degradation andmonotony of packaged food, alternatives become critical.Jenny encourages students to look to the environment inspace as the ultimate experience in food sustainability,which can help prompt vital innovations.“You can’t take all the food you would need to carry withyou on a trip to Mars. For a nine-month return trip for fourpeople, you’d need something like 10 tonnes of food,” shesays. “But also, they get bored of the brown sludgy mealsthey end up eating, and the nutrients degrade over time andFor a tiny plant, the research into duckweed and otherplants just like it proves that with a little innovation andfocus on sustainability, the next game-changer could behiding within the labs at Waite.LUMEN
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