World Space Week: the Sant'Anna School featured with AQUARIUS and REGULIFE, two innovative projects aimed at studying human aging in space and making lunar soil fertile

From October 4 to 10, the world celebrates World Space Week, an opportunity to explore the wonders of the cosmos and reflect on the progress made in space science. In this context, the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies stands out with two cutting-edge projects that aim to revolutionize the future of space exploration.

The projects of the Sant'Anna School
Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies is at the forefront of space research to demonstrate how science can not only expand the boundaries of knowledge, but also improve the quality of human life, both on Earth and beyond.

The AQUARIUS project (NotobrAnchius furzeri, the turQUoise killifish, on SpAce RIder: opportUnity of flight for a conSolidated experimental model of aging) represents an important milestone in the study of the effects of microgravity and space radiation on embryonic development. Coordinated by Debora Angeloni, a professor at the Institute of Biorobotics at the Sant'Anna School, in collaboration with Alessandro Cellerino, a professor at the Scuola Normale Superiore , and Massimiliano Andreazzoli, a professor at the University of Pisa, the project focuses on the study of Notobranchius furzeri, a fish known for its extremely short life cycle and ability to enter diapause, a phase of embryonic dormancy. 
For the first time, embryos of this fish will be sent into space aboard the Space Rider mini-shuttle , developed by theEuropean Space Agency, to study its development upon return to Earth. The results could provide new insights into human aging under spaceflight conditions and offer new solutions for protecting health both in space and on Earth.

The REGULIFE project aims to make lunar regolith, the Moon's soil, fertile and suitable for cultivation through colonization with plants and earthworms. The research is coordinated by Debora Angeloni and supported by the School's laboratories, including those of Donato Romano, a researcher at the Institute of Biorobotics at Scuola Sant'Anna, Chiara Pucciariello, a lecturer at the Institute of Plant Sciences, and Matteo Dell'Acqua, a lecturer at the Institute of Plant Sciences at Scuola Sant'Anna. 
REGOLIFE aims to develop technologies to transform regolith into an Earth-like soil, promoting food self-sufficiency in future space colonies. A recent study coordinated by Scuola Sant'Anna demonstrates how larvae of a particular fly species are able to develop in a lunar regolith simulant.
Funded by theItalian Space Agency, with a grant of more than 650,000 euros, this ambitious project will help make life on the Moon possible and could also have applications for agriculture in extreme environments on Earth.