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An experiment with ties to Kennedy Space Center could help answer a practical question about living beyond Earth: how can astronauts grow food with less hands-on care?

Florida-based Interstellar Lab is preparing BioPod EDEN, an automated plant-growth chamber planned for the International Space Station.

Voyager Technologies announced an agreement October 26 to manage the experiment's hosting aboard the station.

The chamber will use artificial intelligence to monitor and adjust its growing environment.

Researchers will compare plants grown in microgravity with a matching experiment on Earth, gathering information that could inform future food-production systems for lunar and Mars missions, as well as agriculture closer to home.

The first mission is expected to last between 30 days and three months.

Once installed, the equipment is designed to operate largely independently, limiting the time astronauts need to spend tending it.

At the end of the research, a crew member would collect plant samples and freeze them for the return trip.

For Space Coast readers, the project has a familiar connection.

Ralph Fritsche, Interstellar Lab's vice president of space science programs and operations, spent 34 years at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, most recently as its Space Crop Production Project Manager.

Voyager will handle work including engineering support, safety reviews, testing and mission operations.

NASA will decide where the chamber is housed aboard the station.

No launch date was included in the announcement.