News: Cannabis Seeds Could Be The Next Frontier For Space AgTech.

Published 6AM EST, Fri Jan 09, 2026 NASA’s core mission is to explore space and aeronautics, expand scientific knowledge, develop breakthrough technologies, and ultimately bring new knowledge and opportunity back to Earth. What many people do not realize is that some of NASA’s most impactful discoveries have reshaped industries far beyond aerospace, including modern agriculture. Martian Grow is now bringing this space-breeding approach to cannabis.

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Martian Grow, founded by Slovenian cannabis researcher Božidar Radišič, is pioneering the application of space-breeding technology to cannabis genetics. Building on NASA's legacy of space research that gave rise to vertical farming and LED grow lighting, the company aims to expose cannabis seeds to the unique stressors of low Earth orbit—microgravity, cosmic radiation, and launch vibration—to induce beneficial genetic mutations. Their first mission in June 2025 failed when the capsule didn't survive reentry, but the team has regrouped under new CEO John Bernard McQueeney and is preparing for a June 2026 launch aboard a SpaceX rocket.

The approach draws on established space-breeding research, particularly from China, where similar experiments have produced over 200 agricultural varieties including a drought-resistant wheat strain now among the most widely cultivated in the country. Martian Grow's research plan involves sending seeds to orbit for nine months, then using whole-genome sequencing, transcriptomics, epigenetic analysis, and AI-driven modeling to map changes in vigor, yield, and resilience. The technical team includes aerospace engineer Maximilian Maigler, who has designed thermal protection systems for Mars landings, and scientific advisor Professor Lumír Hanuš, credited with discovering anandamide, the first endocannabinoid identified in the human brain. This initiative represents a potentially transformative moment for cannabis genetics development. While the cannabis industry has relied primarily on traditional breeding and phenotype hunting, space-breeding could accelerate the development of cultivars with enhanced traits, drought tolerance, pest resistance, improved cannabinoid profiles, or higher yields, that would otherwise take decades to achieve through conventional methods. Implications for Alphatype: With our Alexandria biobank housing over 1,500 coded cultivars, tissue culture lab maintaining virus-free preservation protocols, and 960 crosses produced annually across six greenhouses, we are positioned to evaluate, integrate, and scale promising space-bred genetics through our existing quality control infrastructure, including our proprietary Alphatype Hermie Score and 4-month embargo testing periods. The formalization of cannabis within space-based agricultural research validates the direction we have championed since 2018: treating wholesale genetics as a scientific discipline requiring rigorous documentation, systematic testing, and institutional-grade operational standards. Source: Cannabis Industry Journal