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Further Together the ORAU PodcastAuthor: ORAU
Join your host Michael Holtz as he discuss all things ORAU, through interviews with our experts who provide innovative scientific and technical solutions for our customers. Michael and his guests will talk about ORAUs storied history, how were impacting an ever-changing world, as well as our commitment to our community. Language: en-us Genres: Government, Natural Sciences, Science Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Unlocking the challenge of growing food in space: A conversation with Luke Fountain, Ph.D., NASA Postdoctoral Fellow
Episode 16
Wednesday, 17 September, 2025
Luke Fountain, Ph.D., is a NASA Postdoctoral Fellow on the Space Crop Production Team at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The UK native's research focuses on on supplementing astronauts' diet with fresh food that is grown in space. "Eventually, we're hoping to replace calories. And as we transition to become more earth-independent, obviously, we want the astronauts to be able to supply, grow more of their own food, so we're less reliant on resupply," he said during his interview for Further Together. Fountain adds that growing plants in space is not easy, and that part of the challenge involves the significantly higher carbon dioxide levels in the International Space Station, where experiments involving plants take place. Learn more about Fountain's research and its importance to future space flight during this episode. Learn more about the NASA Postdoctoral Fellowship Program at https://npp.orau.org/