The “San Marziano” space tomato is the Italian innovation designed for the diet of astronauts capable of resisting space radiation
Created by researchers fromAENEASThis dwarf tomato it is compact, rich in anthocyanins and has demonstrated remarkable resistance to space radiation. The main objective is to provide astronauts with nutrition that can counteract the harmful effects of microgravity and of space radiation during prolonged missions in space. The term “San Marziano” playfully combines the name of the famous San Marzano tomato with the adjective “martian”. This innovative vegetable was developed within the Hortspace and BioxTreme projects, funded byItalian Space Agency and conducted by ENEA, the National Agency for new technologies, energy and sustainable economic development.
Scientist Silvia Massa talks about the San Marziano tomato
The research, which began in 2014, examined how food plants can grow in extraterrestrial environments, considering the productivity, quality and influence of space radiation on plant physiology. The result is San Marziano, a compact tomato with an increase in anthocyanins compared to its terrestrial counterparts, and with minimal variations in growth and photosynthesis. The anthocyanins, water-soluble pigments that give red, blue and purple colors to fruit, vegetables and flowers, are present in greater quantities in San Marziano. Silvia Massa, scientist from ENEA Biotechnology Laboratoryhas explained:
To date, NASA experiments on plants outside the terrestrial environment have allowed microbiological evaluations of edible species but not studies on the performance of plants and derived foods.
Thanks to our model created in collaboration with the University of Amsterdam – Swammerdam, we managed to ‘rekindle’ the biosynthesis of anthocyanins in the tomato which is ‘dormant’ in the currently cultivated species, thus obtaining the biofortified tomato and, for the first time world in such a systematic way, we have studied the effects of ionizing radiation during the entire life cycle, as well as on the main indices of primary and secondary metabolism.
Il San Marziano tomato promises to be a healthy and resistant component in future human diets astronauts, perhaps perfect for spaghetti with tomato sauce on the Moon. And this is thanks to its nutritional profile and resistance to space conditions.
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