On this edition of the Ex Terra podcast, we talk with Nicolas Gaume, Co-founder and CEO of Space Cargo Unlimited.

Space Cargo Limited, and its sister company Space Biology Unlimited, are engaged in a project studying the impact of radiation and microgravity on wine components.

According to Nicolas Gaume, changes in the climate on Earth are affecting many aspects of agriculture. For instance, certain wine grapes are producing more sugars as they ripen, changing the alcohol content of the end product. For the study, several bottles of French wine and vine canes have been sent to ISS to see how they are affected in the absence of Earth's gravity. The canes will be studied to explore new defense strategies, particularly to endemic diseases such as mildew.

In the future, the research will look at the space environment's effects on yeasts and bacteria, focusing on metabolites including resveratrol, with the aim of changing their antioxidant property to prevent neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases such as cancer.

Gaume says the research has wide-ranging implications for agriculture and other biosciences on Earth as our climate changes.

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