Space agriculture is becoming a new frontier of research as scientists look to outer space as a potential home for humans. Dr. Santosh Pitla, associate professor of biological systems engineering, and Dr. Yufeng Ge, Eberhard Professor of Agriculture and professor of biological systems engineering, founded the Consortium of Space, Policy, Agriculture, Climate and Extreme Environment (SPACE2) to research ways to sustainably grow food on space stations, the moon, Mars and other celestial bodies that might eventually sustain legions of the human kind. (Updated November 2024.)
Santosh Pitla
faculty
Professor
Biological Systems Engineering
Associate Professor of Biological Systems Engineering
Biological Systems Engineering
Bio
Santosh Pitla is an associate professor of biological systems engineering at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He is an expert on agricultural robotics and co-founder of the Consortium of Space, Policy, Agriculture, Climate and Extreme Environment, which researches ways to sustainably grow food on space stations, the moon, Mars and other celestial bodies that might eventually sustain legions of the human kind. He earned his bachelor’s of science in mechanical engineering at Osmania University in India; master’s of science in biosystems and agricultural engineering and mechanical engineering at the University of Kentucky; and doctor of philosophy in biosystems and agricultural engineering at the University of Kentucky. (Updated November 2024.)
Yufeng Ge
faculty
Professor
Biological Systems Engineering
Professor of Biological Systems Engineering
Biological Systems Engineering
Bio
Yufeng Ge is co-founder of the Consortium of Space, Policy, Agriculture, Climate and Extreme Environment, which researches ways to sustainably grow food on space stations, the moon, Mars and other celestial bodies that might eventually sustain legions of humankind. He earned his bachelor’s of science in mechanical engineering at Nanjing Forestry University in China; master’s in mechanical engineering at Nanjing Forestry University in China; and doctor of philosophy in biological and agricultural engineering at Texas A&M University. (Updated November 2024.)