Italian scientists have developed a variety of "cosmic rice"

Italian scientists have identified a special kind of rice that can be grown in space. This was reported by the ANSA news agency on July 11.

"Small, productive and fortified with protein: these are new rice varieties that are being developed for future colonies on the Moon and Mars," the article says.

It is noted that the variety was identified thanks to the project of the Italian Space Agency (ASI) "Moon Rice", which is being implemented jointly with the University of Milan, the Sapienza University of Rome and the Friedrich II University of Naples. The program is designed for four years.

The scientists presented the preliminary results obtained in 10 months. According to the publication, this variety is small in size — the plants reach only 10 cm in height. It is specified that the possibility of enriching rice with protein is also being evaluated in order to compensate for the shortage of fresh meat in space.

"We simulate microgravity on Earth by continuously rotating the plant so that it is evenly attracted in all directions by gravity. This is the best we can do on Earth, because, unfortunately, conducting experiments in real microgravity, that is, in space, is a difficult and expensive task," says Marta Del Bianco, a phytobiologist at ASI.

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