{"id":267082,"date":"2025-08-15T02:15:38","date_gmt":"2025-08-14T16:15:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/science-research\/new-research-connects-plant-nutrition-and-astronaut-gut-health\/"},"modified":"2025-08-15T02:15:38","modified_gmt":"2025-08-14T16:15:38","slug":"new-research-connects-plant-nutrition-and-astronaut-gut-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=267082","title":{"rendered":"New Research Connects Plant Nutrition and Astronaut Gut Health"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Astronaut<\/a><\/figure>
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While it may sound like the opening to a punchline, this scientific question was at the heart of a research experiment that orbited the Moon aboard Artemis I.NASA astronaut and Expedition 65 Flight Engineer Mark Vande Hei caring for chili peppers aboard the International Space Station.<\/div>\n
NASA<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

New research uncovers the connection between space agriculture and astronaut health. A study published in npj Microgravity shows how analyzing diverse datasets together can reveal insights that might otherwise be missed \u2014 in this case, linking space-grown food quality to astronaut nutrition and gut health.<\/p>\n

The paper<\/a> reviewed previous studies of plants grown aboard the International Space Station. The authors found that some edible plants grown in low Earth orbit have lower concentrations of essential nutrients, like calcium and magnesium, than those grown on Earth.<\/p>\n

The reduced levels of these nutrients could make crops not as effective in mitigating the bone loss and reduced immune function that astronauts encounter in space.<\/p>\n

Working Groups Uncover Hidden Health Connections<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Three Analysis Working Groups from NASA\u2019s Open Science Data Repository<\/a> collaborated to make this paper possible. These discipline-specific groups typically work independently, but this project sparked conversations among researchers with different specialties.<\/p>\n

Researchers combined plant data, crop nutrition profiles, gut studies, and astronaut blood biomarkers \u2014 a data integration effort of the Biological and Physical Sciences Division open science<\/a> model. The work also draws on data from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency).<\/p>\n

For NASA, these findings offer new insights into how to feed and support astronauts in space, particularly on long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars.<\/p>\n

Seeks Ways to Improve Space Diets<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The study also examined increased intestinal permeability \u2014 often called \u201cleaky gut\u201d \u2014 a condition that can result from poor nutrition and may be exacerbated by the space environment. Intestinal permeability may interfere with how astronauts absorb nutrients and regulate immune responses.<\/p>\n

If properly engineered, space-grown crops could offer a solution to these health challenges. The team outlined several potential strategies, including bioengineering plants with higher nutrient content, incorporating more antioxidant-rich species, and designing personalized nutrition plans using astronauts\u2019 genetic information.<\/p>\n

The study suggests targeting specific biological pathways, such as using compounds like quercetin, an antioxidant found in certain crops, to address bone health challenges at the molecular level. The approach emphasizes designing nutrition plans based on individual astronaut physiology, including how well their digestive systems can absorb nutrients.<\/p>\n

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Related Resources<\/strong><\/h3>\n


<\/strong>Open Science Data Repository<\/a><\/p>\n

Open Science Data Repository Analysis Working Groups (AWG)<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

About BPS<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n

NASA\u2019s Biological and Physical Sciences Division<\/strong><\/a> pioneers scientific discovery and enables exploration by\u00a0using space environments to conduct\u00a0investigations\u00a0not possible on Earth.\u00a0Studying biological and physical phenomenon under extreme conditions allows researchers to advance the fundamental scientific knowledge required to go farther and stay longer in space, while also benefitting life on Earth.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New research uncovers the connection between space agriculture and astronaut health. A study published in npj Microgravity shows how analyzing diverse datasets together can reveal insights that might otherwise be missed \u2014 in this case, linking space-grown food quality to astronaut nutrition and gut health. The paper reviewed previous studies of plants grown aboard the [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16191,17099,17771,16347,15597,15598],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-267082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-biological-physical-sciences","category-for-researchers","category-open-science-data-repository-in-the-news","category-plant-biology","category-science-research","category-science-mission-directorate"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=267082"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267082\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":267083,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267082\/revisions\/267083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=267082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=267082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=267082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}