University of Nebraska-Lincoln professors researching how to grow crops in space

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Santosh Pitla and Yufeng Ge are professors at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and share a similar passion for space agriculture.

The two have teamed together as a part of UNL’s Grand Challenges Grant to research what it would take to bring agriculture beyond Earth.

In the near future, Ge and Pitla are looking to receive additional funding for the nation’s first space agriculture center.

“Maybe even 30 years from now, if there are going to be settlements on Mars and Moon, then people have to eat,” Pitla said.

Pitla said advancements in space exploration led the professors to start studying space agriculture.

Ge and Pitla are also creating a group of researchers to help look into growing crops on planets.

They have used resources such as robots and greenhouses in their research to prepare for extreme weather conditions.

“We know there are a set of plants that are particularly suitable for those missions, such as lettuce, potatoes and others,” Ge said.

Ge hopes they can learn to grow soybeans and corn, due to their carbohydrate and protein content.