Chiba University's Research Center for Space Agriculture Contributes to New International Roadmap for Space Plant Science － Establishing a Global Research Agenda for Sustainable Plant Production in Space －
2025.11.27
On 25 November 2025, the international journal New Phytologist published a landmark article titled "Expanding frontiers: harnessing plant biology for space exploration and planetary sustainability."
The paper presents a comprehensive roadmap for advancing plant science to support human life in space.
Professor Hideyuki Takahashi of the Research Center for Space Agriculture & Horticulture, Chiba University participated as a contributing member representing Japan, alongside 43 researchers from 11 countries and major space agencies.
A New Global Roadmap for Space Agriculture
As NASA's Artemis program moves forward with human return to the Moon, technologies for growing food and maintaining life-support systems in space are gaining global attention.
Based on discussions at the International Space Life Sciences Working Group (ISLSWG) workshop held at the European Low Gravity Research Association (ELGRA) conference in 2024, the paper outlines key scientific challenges and future research priorities for plant biology in space.
Key highlights include:
・Scientific advances from studying plant responses to space environments
・Priorities for establishing autonomous, resilient crop-production systems
・The potential of synthetic biology and predictive modelling
・Applications of space-driven innovations to sustainable agriculture on Earth
This vision aims to strengthen global collaboration in the rapidly growing field of space agriculture.
New Evaluation Framework: BRL for Plant-Based Life-Support Systems
The article introduces a new assessment framework called BRL (Bioregenerative Life Support System Readiness Level).
BRL expands upon NASA's CRL (Crop Readiness Level), which measures the technological maturity of crop research for space missions.
While CRL focuses on crop cultivation readiness, BRL evaluates how well plants can function as components of a bioregenerative life-support system--including their roles in recycling air, water, and nutrients within closed habitats on the Moon or Mars.
As an international common standard, BRL is expected to accelerate development of sustainable, plant-based life-support systems for deep-space exploration.
Publication Details
Title: Expanding frontiers: harnessing plant biology for space exploration and planetary sustainability
Journal: New Phytologist
DOI: 10.1111/nph.70662
Link: https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nph.70662
Photo Caption: "Plants as part of our life support systems" -- L. Fountain