Lunar Agriculture and Sustainable Technologies (LAST)

Lunar Agriculture and Sustainable Technologies (LAST)

Leader

The Moon Village Association (MVA) is proud to announce the launch of the Lunar Agriculture and Sustainable Technologies (LAST) Working Group, a pioneering international initiative dedicated to exploring the future of lunar agriculture and its transformative potential for both space exploration and life on Earth.

As humanity moves closer to establishing a sustained presence on the Moon, ensuring a reliable and self-sufficient food supply will be essential for long-term missions and future lunar settlements. The LAST Working Group brings together leading scientists, engineers, policymakers, and industry experts to address the complex challenges of growing plants beyond Earth’s biosphere.

The initiative will focus on several key research areas, including:

  • Cultivating plants in lunar regolith – Investigating innovative agricultural techniques that enable plant growth in lunar soil, which is devoid of organic material and contains potentially hazardous heavy metals. The team will explore solutions such as bioremediation, nutrient supplementation, and advanced hydroponic systems to ensure safe and productive lunar farming.
  • Developing genetically engineered crops for extreme environments – Designing and testing plant varieties that can withstand the harsh conditions of space, including high radiation exposure, limited water availability, and low gravity. Breakthroughs in plant genetics and biotechnology could pave the way for crops capable of thriving in extraterrestrial environments while also offering benefits for food production in climate-stressed regions on Earth.
  • Translating lunar agricultural innovations to global food security – The challenges of growing food on the Moon closely mirror those faced in arid, nutrient-deficient, and extreme environments on Earth. Insights gained from lunar agriculture research could lead to sustainable farming solutions that help address food shortages, improve crop resilience, and support communities in developing regions affected by climate change and resource scarcity.
  • By fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and cutting-edge research, the LAST Working Group aims to redefine the future of food production in space while contributing to a more sustainable and food-secure world on Earth. The Moon Village Association invites researchers, institutions, and organizations worldwide to join this groundbreaking initiative and shape the next frontier of space-enabled agriculture.

The Leads

Dr. Borja Barbero Barcenilla

Dr. Borja Barbero Barcenilla is a distinguished scientist specializing in synthetic biology and genome engineering. He currently serves as the research coordinator for the NASA Genelab plant Working Group (AWG). Dr. Barbero Barcenilla’s expertise extends to spaceflight operations, as evidenced by his involvement in NASA’s SHINE-1 and STAR-4 programs. As a member of BioAstra CREW-2, Dr. Barbero Barcenilla has contributed to advancing space biology research. His hands-on experience includes working on space biology experiments, notably the Apex-07 mission. He is also slated to participate in the upcoming Apex-12 project, which will involve experiments on the International Space Station (ISS) as well as galactic cosmic rays experiments at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Dr. Barbero Barcenilla’s research portfolio includes groundbreaking work in cultivating various plant species using lunar regolith, demonstrating his innovative approach to space agriculture.

Harrison Coker

Harrison is a PhD student at Texas A&M University in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences on a NASA Space Technology Graduate Research Opportunity. Harrison’s research focuses on implementing technologies for nutrient and metal extraction from lunar and Martian soils, along with studying the mineral-organic interactions and nutrition of plants grown in these substrates. Harrison has participated as a Visiting Technologist at Kennedy Space Center developing his research on off-world nutrient recycling.

Rachel Rivero

Rachel is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology at the University of Michigan and a NASA Space Technology Graduate Research Opportunities (NSTGRO) Fellow. She is a member of the Shan Lab, where her research focuses on understanding the genetic basis and regulation of asexual regeneration in “Mother of Thousands” Kalanchoesucculents. Her work aims to explore applications of this process as a space-based bio-manufacturing system for space exploration beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO).