Vasily Sazonov, who leads the Faculty of Space Studies at Moscow State University, conveyed that the university intends to send a greenhouse for research aboard the International Space Station in 2025, with potential progression into 2026 depending on program milestones and launch availability. This update comes as part of ongoing efforts to advance space agriculture and life-support experiments in microgravity environments, as reported by RIA News.
Plans are concrete enough to suggest that a full greenhouse module, designed for deployment in stages, will be built from modular components. The approach involves delivering these modules to the orbital outpost and assembling the habitat piece by piece in orbit. A previous Russian attempt, the Lada-2 greenhouse, met a setback when it was lost in December 2016 during the emergency launch of the Progress MS-04 cargo ship. That incident underscored the technical challenges of constructing and maintaining biological habitats in space and informed subsequent design improvements aimed at boosting reliability and resilience for future missions.
The project sits in the broader context of space-based energy systems and bioregenerative life support. In related experiments, researchers demonstrated the feasibility of harvesting and redirecting energy from orbit. A notable example is the Microwave Array for Power Transfer Low Orbit Experiment, or MAPLE, which was developed to convert solar energy into radio frequency energy and transmit it back to Earth. This line of inquiry helps scientists evaluate the practicality of sustaining space-based installations with autonomous energy sources and also informs ground-based power applications that could benefit from wireless energy transfer concepts in the future.
Scientists have long explored the benefits of placing solar arrays in space. In orbit, solar panels can avoid day-night cycles and weather-related interruptions that affect ground installations. The result is the potential for near-continuous energy generation, a feature that supports longer-duration experiments and uninterrupted habitat operations aboard the station. Nevertheless, the challenge of efficiently conveying energy from space to Earth or to nearby spacecraft remains an active area of research, shaping the design and deployment strategies for future power systems in low Earth orbit and beyond.
Beyond energy and life support, the prospects of in-space manufacturing and resource extraction have captured scientific imagination for decades. The idea of star-factories dedicated to producing valuable elements, including precious metals, has been discussed in theoretical and experimental contexts. While such concepts remain exploratory, they drive a broader conversation about how humanity could leverage space-based processes to complement terrestrial industry, reduce supply-chain risks, and enable longer-duration deep-space missions. In this evolving landscape, researchers emphasize rigorous testing, robust safety protocols, and incremental demonstrations to translate speculative ideas into practical capability that can withstand the rigors of space environments.