AgroSpace: Growing Life Beyond Earth, Innovating for Our Planet

A lot of know-how has already been acquired by Academia and industrial players. The round table aims to highlight the state of the art regarding research and development of technologies and possibilities in agrospace and their application and investment implications for businesses both in space and on Earth. 
The dedicated AgroSpace round table will address the prospects and challenges of advanced space agriculture in supporting food autonomy and the psycho-physical well-being of astronauts during long-duration deep-space missions (including a connection with Concordia Station in Antarctica, a terrestrial analogue for long-duration space missions).

As space agencies and industry prepare for long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars, the ability to grow food in space is becoming an operational requirement. The most promising solutions come from Earth: intensive soilless agriculture technologies —such as hydroponics, aeroponics, and fully controlled environment farming —already used to produce food efficiently without soil. These systems, designed to maximize yields, minimize resources, and operate in extreme or constrained environments, form the technological backbone for future space-based food production.

Despite major advances in research and industry, turning this expertise into autonomous, scalable systems for deep-space missions remains a significant challenge. Analogue sites like Concordia Station in Antarctica, recognized by ESA for its similarity to long-duration space conditions, provide essential testbeds to validate life-support technologies, closed-loop cultivation systems, and crew well-being strategies.

The AgroSpace Roundtable will explore how Earth-developed soilless farming, biofortified crops, and circular resource-recovery technologies can support food autonomy and psychological well-being for astronauts, while generating valuable innovations for urban and peri-urban agriculture on our planet.
The session will feature a live connection with Concordia Station in Antarctica, offering a unique real-time perspective from one of the world's most extreme and isolated research environments.