Overview

• The Moon-Rice project unites the Italian Space Agency with the Universities of Milan, Rome Sapienza and Naples Federico II in a four-year collaboration to engineer space-ready crops.
• CRISPR mutagenesis at the University of Milan yielded super-dwarf rice lines just 10 centimeters tall, tailored for the space station’s limited growing areas.
• Rome Sapienza scientists identified genetic targets that optimize plant architecture for maximum grain output within a minimized crop footprint.
• Teams are fine-tuning gibberellin hormone pathways to maintain seed germination and elevating the embryo-to-starch ratio to enrich protein content for space diets.
• All findings were unveiled July 9 at the Society for Experimental Biology conference in Antwerp, accompanied by rotating-plant tests that simulate microgravity on Earth.