{"id":616162,"date":"2024-04-09T17:24:26","date_gmt":"2024-04-09T14:24:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/autonomous-vertical-farming-startup-to-grow-crops-in-space-in-2026\/"},"modified":"2024-04-09T17:24:26","modified_gmt":"2024-04-09T14:24:26","slug":"autonomous-vertical-farming-startup-to-grow-crops-in-space-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/autonomous-vertical-farming-startup-to-grow-crops-in-space-in-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"#Autonomous vertical farming startup to grow crops in space in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a417a31a0fdf\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a417a31a0fdf\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/autonomous-vertical-farming-startup-to-grow-crops-in-space-in-2026\/#Adapting_the_farms_for_space\" >Adapting the farms for space\u00a0<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/autonomous-vertical-farming-startup-to-grow-crops-in-space-in-2026\/#Making_vertical_farming_work_on_Earth\" >Making vertical farming work on Earth<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div id=\"article-main-content\">\n                            <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A vertical farming startup from the UK is taking its <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a> to new heights.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The UK Space Agency has awarded Vertical Future \u00a31.5mn to build an autonomous farm in orbit. The high-tech veggie garden will be installed on <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the world\u2019s first commercial space station.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Currently being constructed by US-based Axiom Space, the station is due to open its doors to eager astronauts in 2026.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Space stations are an ideal testing ground for growing fruit, veggies, and even pharmaceuticals in microgravity. The lessons learnt here will likely be critical to feeding hungry humans once (<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">if?<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) we set up shop on the Moon or Mars.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"inarticle-wrapper latest channel-cta hs-embed-tnw\">\n<div id=\"hs-embed-tnw\" class=\"channel-cta-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"channel-cta-img\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"js-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/events.tnw\/hardfork-2018\/uploads\/visuals\/tnw-newsletter.png\"\/><\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/events.tnw\/hardfork-2018\/uploads\/visuals\/tnw-newsletter.png\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"channel-cta-input\">\n<p class=\"channel-cta-title\">The &lt;3 of EU tech<\/p>\n<p class=\"channel-cta-tagline\">The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol&#8217; founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It&#8217;s free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe further we go into space, the more we will need to produce while we\u2019re there, be it food, biomaterials, or medicines,\u201d Dr Jen Bromley, chief scientific officer at Vertical Future, told TNW. \u201c<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Plant-growing facilities are seen as a part of the solution.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Headquartered in London, Vertical Future designs, manufactures, and deploys fully-robotic vertical farms. The plants are grown under LED lights in metal boxes stacked on a shelving system towering several metres high.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Robots \u2014 capable of moving up and down and left to right \u2014 keep the crops healthy. Everything from seed treatment to harvesting is fully automated.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Adapting_the_farms_for_space\"><\/span><b>Adapting the farms for space\u00a0<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In space, Vertical Future\u2019s system will need to overcome a whole new set of challenges. \u201cThe main issue is watering and feeding [the plants],\u201d said Bromley. \u201cIn microgravity, any fluid movement needs to be carefully controlled as water doesn\u2019t pool the same way it does on Earth.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Vertical Future is exploring using a kind of \u201cpillow\u201d that will safely <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">contain the liquid for use by the plants.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> This builds upon previous research at NASA where astronauts manually injected the pillows with fertirrigant (fertiliser mixed with water). <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The startup will now work on automating the process.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure class=\"post-image post-mediaBleed aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-1405552 size-full js-lazy\" alt=\"vertical-future-farming-in-space\" width=\"1640\" height=\"2215\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1640px) 100vw, 1640px\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/vertical-future-farming-in-space.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/vertical-future-farming-in-space.jpg 1640w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/vertical-future-farming-in-space-155x210.jpg 155w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/vertical-future-farming-in-space-100x135.jpg 100w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/vertical-future-farming-in-space-200x270.jpg 200w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/vertical-future-farming-in-space-1137x1536.jpg 1137w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/vertical-future-farming-in-space-1516x2048.jpg 1516w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/vertical-future-farming-in-space-796x1075.jpg 796w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/vertical-future-farming-in-space-1592x2150.jpg 1592w\"\/><figcaption><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"#\" data-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Feditorial.thenextweb.com%2Fdeep-tech%2F2024%2F04%2F09%2Fvertical-future-farming-startup-grow-crops-axiom-space-station%2F&amp;via=thenextweb&amp;related=thenextweb&amp;text=Check out this picture on: Vertical Future\u2019s stacked farming system will need a few adjustments before it can work in microgravity. Credit: Vertical Future\" data-title=\"Share Vertical Future\u2019s stacked farming system will need a few adjustments before it can work in microgravity. Credit: Vertical Future on Twitter\" data-width=\"685\" data-height=\"500\" class=\"post-image-share popitup\" title=\"Share Vertical Future\u2019s stacked farming system will need a few adjustments before it can work in microgravity. Credit: Vertical Future on Twitter\"><i class=\"icon icon--inline icon--twitter--dark\"\/><\/a>Vertical Future\u2019s stacked farming system will need a few adjustments before it can work in microgravity. Credit: Vertical Future<\/figcaption><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-1405552 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/vertical-future-farming-in-space.jpg\" alt=\"vertical-future-farming-in-space\" width=\"1640\" height=\"2215\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/vertical-future-farming-in-space.jpg 1640w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/vertical-future-farming-in-space-155x210.jpg 155w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/vertical-future-farming-in-space-100x135.jpg 100w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/vertical-future-farming-in-space-200x270.jpg 200w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/vertical-future-farming-in-space-1137x1536.jpg 1137w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/vertical-future-farming-in-space-1516x2048.jpg 1516w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/vertical-future-farming-in-space-796x1075.jpg 796w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/vertical-future-farming-in-space-1592x2150.jpg 1592w\"\/><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Astronauts have been experimenting with growing plants in space for decades, although these efforts have remained small-scale. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Right now on the international space station (ISS), the crew receive regular shipments of freeze-dried meals to cover their dietary needs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But when astronauts venture further into space \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">travel<\/a>ling for months or years \u2014 the vitamins in prepackaged foods will break down, presenting a problem for their health. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Freshly grown fresh fruits and vegetables are the only viable solution.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cPlants are not just important for astronaut nutrition, there is a proven psychological benefit to eating fresh produce,\u201d Bromley points out. \u201cThe experience of texture and flavours from fresh food cannot be underestimated for astronaut well-being. As we travel further and spend longer in space that is critical.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Vertical Future will build the first space farm prototype this year. It plans to test the system at the ISS next year prior to deployment at the new commercial space station the year after.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Making_vertical_farming_work_on_Earth\"><\/span><b>Making vertical farming work on Earth<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Vertical farming was all the rage a few years back. Startups <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">promised a future where food could be produced locally and more sustainably. Investors rushed in to take their slice of the plant-based pie.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Last year, ho<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">wever, investment in vertical farming was a fraction of what it was just three years prior: \u20ac100mn, compared to over \u20ac500mn back in 2020, according to <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/sifted.eu\/articles\/vertical-farming-boom-over-for-now-what-went-wrong\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pitchbook data<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While vertical farms are admittedly a great idea, the costs in both money and energy are still high compared to traditional agriculture. For this reason, even today only a tiny fraction of the foods you eat daily are grown in vertical farms.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Vertical Future used to just grow crops and sell them to restaurants and supermarkets but it wasn\u2019t profitable so they pivoted. Now, the company focuses on selling the growing towers. Anyone from supermarkets to pharmaceutical companies can buy them.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The company<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> believes the outcome of its space-farm mission will provide valuable lessons for growing crops back on Earth. From footwear and the computer mouse to smoke detectors and even treatments for cancer, <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/167752main_fs_spinoffs508c.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">experiments in space<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> have long proven that solving problems can sometimes benefit from a bit of \u2014 pun intended \u2014 rocket <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/sciencee\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"5\" title=\"Science\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">science<\/a>.\u00a0 <\/span>\n                        <\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/vertical-future-farming-startup-grow-crops-axiom-space-station\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A vertical farming startup from the UK is taking its technology to new heights.\u00a0\u00a0 The UK Space Agency has awarded Vertical Future \u00a31.5mn to build an autonomous farm in orbit. The high-tech veggie garden will be installed on the world\u2019s first commercial space station.\u00a0 Currently being constructed by US-based Axiom Space, the station is due&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":616163,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image\/tnw-blurple?filter_last=1&fit=1280%2C640&url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn0.tnwcdn.com%2Fwp-content%2Fblogs.dir%2F1%2Ffiles%2F2024%2F04%2Fvertical-farming-startup-plants-space.jpg&signature=3ea815f727e417896bf0a2f29718faae","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-616162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/616162","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=616162"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/616162\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/616163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=616162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=616162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=616162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}