This article was featured in Eurofish Magazine 1 2026.
A Spanish-led research consortium has launched SpaceGenFish, a pioneering project exploring whether farmed fish could one day feed astronauts on long-term space missions. Coordinated by ICM-CSIC with partners including IEEC, Radian, and Ifremer, the initiative is funded through Spain’s space agency under a European Space Agency (ESA) programme. The project’s main goal is to conduct a 15-day orbital experiment to study how microgravity and space radiation affect fish physiology—particularly focusing on epigenetic responses that may indicate not just survival, but biological adaptation to space conditions. Alongside the science, SpaceGenFish is also developing an autonomous life-support and monitoring system to ensure stable aquatic conditions without crew input—technology that could also benefit remote aquaculture on Earth. While the chosen species hasn’t been disclosed, the project builds on earlier Ifremer research involving European seabass and meagre—making seabass a likely candidate for the orbital experiment. If successful, SpaceGenFish could mark the first proof of concept for animal protein production in space, expanding the future menu for astronauts beyond plant-based foods and reshaping ideas of sustainable food systems off Earth.
