Space Agriculture & Food Research Team (SEED)
Teams Main Page SEED Articles Join Team SEED Contact
Team Name
- Space Agriculture & Food Research Team (SEED)
SEED Advisor
- Tuğçe Celayir (Plant Space Biologist, The Turkish Astronaut and Space Mission (TABM) – CRISPR GEM Project Manager )
SEED Leader
- Ömer Çevik (Agricultural Engineer, Gaziosmanpaşa University, Biology Botany, Master of Science, Aksaray University)
SEED Space Agriculture Crew
- Alican Tonbul (Physics)
- Hanife Kılıç (Karabük BİLSEM, Science Teacher)
- Sena Özdemir (Agricultural Engineer)
- Şevval Murat (Engineer of Mechatronics)
- Zehra Betül Tepe (Farmer, Organic Agricultural Products Producer)
SEED Space Food Research Crew
- Betül Öz (Marmara University, Bioengineering)
- Fundanur Alçiçek (Istanbul University, Biology)
- Melese İlhan (Yıldız Teknik University, Molecular Biology and Genetics)
- İrem Canseven (Istanbul University, Biology)
About the SEED Team
SEED is a team dedicated to research on sustainable space agriculture and astronaut nutrition for long-duration space missions and space colonies like the Moon and Mars.
Our team is composed of agricultural engineers, experienced farmers, and undergraduate students working on space agriculture.
SEED Missions
- Develop innovative and sustainable space agriculture systems for long-duration space missions and space colonies,
- Optimize food production in different space environments like the Moon and Mars,
- Produce hygienic, nutritious, and delicious space food for astronauts,
- Preserve and enhance the nutritional value of food in space,
- Ensure the safety and quality of space food,
- Examine the long-term effects of space food through analog astronaut studies,
- Establish and operate closed-loop agriculture systems at the MoEP analog station,
- Grow fresh and nutritious produce for the MoEP Analog Mars Research Station crew,
- Prepare, control, and ensure the hygiene of space food for the MoEP Analog Mars Research Station crew,
- Develop and implement emergency procedures related to space food,
- Investigate the long-term effects of space food through MoEP analog astronaut studies,
- Meet the nutritional needs of astronauts for future space missions.
SEED’s Research Areas
- Selection of plants to be grown in space and genetic and physiological adaptation studies to enable these plants to adapt to space conditions,
- Design and optimization of space greenhouses to be used in spacecraft or stations,
- Development and improvement of systems to create a sustainable water and nutrient cycle in space,
- Use of artificial intelligence for automated irrigation, fertilization, and plant disease detection in space,
- Determination of factors affecting plant health in space and prevention or treatment of diseases that occur in space,
- Investigation of the working of photosynthesis mechanisms under space conditions and the effects of different light spectrums on plant growth,
- Examination of the effects of the microgravity environment on plant growth and studies on how to compensate for these effects,
- Determination of the nutritional value of plants grown in space and evaluation of their suitability for human consumption,
- Development and testing of space agriculture technologies to be applied in space research stations like the International Space Station or space missions,
- Hydroponic and aeroponic systems,
- Vertical farming,
- Space plant lighting,
- Space plant stress studies,
- Nutrient solutions in space,
- Insect pollination and artificial pollination in space,
- Food preservation and processing in space,
- Food safety and food hygiene in space,
- Human nutrition procedures in space,
- Seed germination and seedling raising techniques under space conditions,
- Cultivation of different agricultural products in space,
- Harvesting and post-harvest operations in space,
- Food packaging and storage in space,
- Food waste management in space.
Importance of SEED
The SEED team is a team that conducts research on critical topics for space exploration and human expansion into space. Our team’s work will help develop new knowledge and technologies that will make future space missions more sustainable and successful.
It will also contribute to agriculture and food science on Earth by providing a better understanding of the effects of the space environment on human nutrition.
SEED is committed to leading the future of space agriculture and food research. If you are interested in collaborating with the SEED team or joining the SEED team, please contact us.