The lunar ambitions of NASA's Artemis program spell out multiple crewed missions to the Moon and to Mars. The ESA Terrae Novae 2030+ exploration roadmap aims to enable Europe's participation in the first crewed exploration mission to Mars. Yet, missions to deep space still pose significant challenges for food production. As missions will become longer and more distant, it becomes difficult to send from Earth all elements for astronaut survival. The objective of Spaceship FR team at CNES (French Space Agency) is to develop innovative technological bricks for the future Moon and Mars bases, thanks to technologies and skills of its partners' network. Bricks relative to Food Management System can be used for food production, transformation, conservation, and cooking with the highest degree of autonomy. One of the primary goals for enhancing the autonomy of space missions is to develop a controlled environment cultivation system. It is important to recognize that each plant has specific requirements for optimal growth, including factors like form, space occupied, climate, light, and fertilization. This paper aims to present our modular Controlled Environment Agriculture system, where each type of plant is accommodated in a dedicated and optimized system to meet its specific needs. First results are promising and show yields consistent with or even superior to those obtained in the most modern terrestrial cultivation systems for tomatoes, cabbages, turnips, and herbs. Our system has the capability to provide more than 50% of the necessary calories for the diet of four astronauts on an 80-sqm surface area, ensuring diverse and balanced nutrition continuously. Its modular nature allows for replication and adaptation to meet the needs of a larger number of astronauts. This significant advancement marks a crucial step towards food autonomy for the Moon and Mars missions, paving the way for sustainable and self-sufficient space exploration.
Pluchon et al. (Sun,) studied this question.