Among the main challenges in growing vegetables in space, one of the most significant is the limited availability of energy resources, especially light, which is essential for the proper growth and development of plants. Identifying varieties of microgreens that can be grown in extreme environmental settings, such as space missions, is an ideal solution especially for supplying astronauts with fresh food during their travels and stay in space. A study, published in the journal Plant Communications and coordinated by researchers Raffaele Dello Ioio and Paola Vittorioso of the Department of Biology and Biotechnology at Sapienza University of Rome, in collaboration with the Institute of Experimental Botany, the Italian Space Agency and the Department of Biology at the University of Pisa, has isolated microgreens capable of germinating in the dark by identifying a molecular mechanism that promotes their growth independent of light. The research focused on hairy bittercress, a model plant with micro vegetable characteristics. Researchers have shown that this plant is capable of germinating independently of light and that it owes this ability to high levels of gibberellic acid, a hormone present in all plants and responsible for their growth, and the regulator DAG1, which is instead involved in the process regardless of light conditions. The results obtained from the research will make it possible to translate this knowledge to other microgreens through TEA (Assisted Evolution Techniques) technology, increasing the number of plant products available to astronauts and bringing colonization of other planets closer. Thanks to the joint venture of Paola Vittorioso and Raffaele Dello Ioio's group, funded by the Lazio region, it will also be possible to explore new perspectives for the development of more resilient crops that can adapt to increasingly complex environmental contexts due to climate change.