Raja Chari in EVA suit (NASA photo)
Iowa’s two U.S. senators say NASA’s lunar research may help improve food production and resource conservation on Earth. The lawmakers joined NASA astronaut Raja Chari for a discussion at Grinnell College this morning.
Chari, who was raised in Cedar Falls, said as astronauts learn to live on the moon through NASA’s Artemis Project, they’ll need to learn to grow food. “I think it’s important that we invest in the technology in getting there so that we can continue to lead as a nation and lead the world,” Chari said, “just as we did during the Apollo era.”
Chari is the leader of astronaut development and testing for the Human Landing System for NASA’s Artemis Program. Republican Senator Joni Ernst said what astronauts learn from living on the moon may wind up influencing a wide range of federal policies. “It’s important not just for the Farm Bill, but it’s important for other departments as well as we’re moving forward doing research on crops, on protecting our water — water purification,” Ernst said.
Republican Senator Chuck Grassley said NASA’s ag research may be more quickly adopted by the private sector. “What we learn from research out of gravity is very important for agriculture,” Grassley said.
Congresswoman Ashley Hinson, a Republican from Marion, was also at the event in Grinnell. “My key takeaway is that collabortation is essential to making sure we can continue to collaborate,” Hinson said. “Hearing about the work happening on the International Space Station down to the work we’re going to be doing on the Farm Bill to make sure that research and that innovation is supported, I think it’s absolutely critical.”
NASA’s Artemis crew has begun training, with a target date in 2026 for landing on the moon and spending nearly a month living on the surface.
(By Tim Dill, KGRN, Grinnell)