By 
July 1st, 2026
Image credit: Tohoku University
Researchers from Tohoku University and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) are diving into securing sustainable food supplies on the Moon.
First of all, the Moon’s soil contains no organic material, and essential plant nitrogen sources like ammonia and nitrate are virtually nonexistent.
A new idea has cropped up: the potential of plasma technology for future lunar agriculture.
Lunar simulants
The use of discharge plasma to convert nitrogen, oxygen, and water into reactive species for nitrogen fixation is being appraised. This new study demonstrated the effectiveness of dinitrogen pentoxide as a nitrogen fertilizer for rice cultivation in lunar regolith simulants.
Furthermore, this technology also shows promise in regulating plant growth and enhancing plant immunity, addressing the challenges of lunar agriculture.
“Our portable plasma device selectively synthesizes dinitrogen pentoxide (N₂O₅) gas from atmospheric air, consuming less than 100 W in the process,” says Toshiro Kaneko, a professor from the Graduate School of Engineering at Tohoku University and co-author of the study.
Schematic illustration of a plasma-based lunar agriculture system.
Image credit: Toshiro Kaneko
“This plasma-produced gas promptly dissolves in water to generate nitrate (NO₃⁻) with an exceptionally high dissolution efficiency of nearly 100%,” Kaneko said in a university statement.
Cultivating a new idea
Kaneko and his research colleagues subsequently evaluated whether the N₂O₅-dissolved water could serve as a local nitrogen fertilizer for cultivating rice seedlings within a lunar regolith simulant.
Experiments revealed that adding N₂O₅-dissolved water to the lunar regolith simulant successfully neutralized the highly alkaline conditions, lowering its pH from 9.09 to an optimal 6.76. This neutralization released critical mineral nutrients trapped in the regolith, such as calcium, magnesium, and potassium ions, allowing plants to absorb them more readily, explains Kaneko.
Beyond acting as a powerful nitrogen fertilizer, the researchers also discovered that the gas helps strengthen plants’ immune systems and controls unwanted traits.
Spraying N₂O₅ gas directly onto plant leaves activates critical plant hormone pathways that boost resistance and immunity.
Gas exposure also suppressed stem and internode elongation, which prevents legginess, something essential for managing crop structures under the low-gravity conditions of space environments.
Rice growth on lunar regolith simulant with N₂O₅ dissolved water. Compared with the water-only control, plants treated with the N₂O₅ solution exhibited markedly enhanced growth three months after sowing. Furthermore, heading was observed four months after sowing, indicating that the N₂O₅ solution is effective as a nitrogen fertilizer.
Image credit: Toshiro Kaneko
Here on Earth
Kaneko notes that this technology approach is not only ideally suited for lunar farms. It can also help reduce environmental burdens in agriculture here on earth.
“The process of producing this fertilizer operates entirely on electricity and low power, completely decoupling nitrogen fixation from fossil fuels,” states Kaneko, “making the technology suitable for sustainable crop production on the Moon and here on Earth.”
Details of this research work were published in the journal npj Microgravity, and can be accessed here at:
Posted in Space News
