One thing about Science Fiction: the food in future worlds always seems a bit dodgy. From Soylent Green through 2001: A Space Odyssey all the way to Red Dwarf, it’s all a bit artificial. Despite the ingenious efforts of valiant biochemists and microbiologists,[1] it’s not really the same. But wait, gentle readers! Almost unbelievably a brilliant French Scientist called Dr Cyrille Przybyla really believes he has a way of serving up a tasty plate of fresh real Sea Bass in the dining room of a lunar colony, assuming we all survive to construct one.

According to Kim Willsher of the Guardian, it’s not so outlandish as it sounds.[2] Apparently our finny friends have been making trips into space since the 1970s. All Dr Przybyla and his his Lunar Hatch Project are doing at this stage is sending a few up to the ISS to see how they get on. But, if it’s a success-who knows. Bass are exceptionally rich in omega 3 and B group vitamins, all of which are good for fighting muscle loss which comes with low gravity or zero gravity environments. Being fish, they’re already weightless in effect, so they won’t care anyway. The idea of putting them into enclosed, self sustaining eco systems might be very feasible on the moon. We now know there’s plenty of water up there, so that potentially exorbitant problem is largely solved.

There’s so much to like about this idea. Firstly it’s new different thinking: but not so new that bits of it haven’t been tried already. Secondly, a cautious, step-by-step approach is being applied-always a good sign of a successful project. Thirdly, it addresses a real need. No wonder the Chinese are getting interested, as Kim points out. that’s because they look to the future, instead of wasting all their time and energy trying to restore a lot of rusty old factories whose time has long since passed. We think there’s a lesson in there somewhere.

[1]https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp34wzql2xvo

[2]https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/apr/28/sea-bass-in-space-lunar-hatch-fish-farms-moon-aquaculture

#space exploration #fish farms #nutrition #sea bass #ifremer