The EU project EDEN ISS (2015 - 2019; EC-H2020, Grant agreement n° 636501) was successfully carried out by an international project team consisting of scientists and industrial partners. It dealt with the development and optimisation of plant cultivation technologies and operating procedures for safe food production in extreme locations, such as the international space station or in future habitats on the surface of other planets and moons. For this purpose, the semi-autonomous EDEN-ISS greenhouse was built and operated near the German Station Neumeyer III in Antarctica. During the active cultivation phase of several months microbial samples were taken systematically from the various grown plants, the nutrient distribution system and the greenhouse itself. The microbial bioburden and biodiversity of the pro- and eukaryotic organisms in these samples were analysed afterwards in Cologne to assess possible risks connected to the consumption of food which is produced in a confined greenhouse.

For further reading: https://eden-iss.net/.

Fahrion, J., Fink, C., Zabel, P., Schubert, D., Mysara, M., Van Houdt, R., Eikmanns, B., Beblo-Vranesevic, K., Rettberg, P. (2020) Microbial Monitoring in the EDEN ISS Greenhouse, a Mobile Test Facility in Antarctica. Frontiers in Microbiology. 2020; 11: 525. Frontiers Media S.A.. DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.00525 ISSN 1664-302X.

A new sampling phase in the greenhouse is currently being planned and prepared.