Could happen sooner than you think. "Plants don't grow [well] in zero gravity," explained Melchiorri. "NASA is researching different ways to produce oxygen for long-distance space journeys to let us live in space. This material could allow us to explore space much further than we can now." NASA is currently working on developing ways to grow agriculture on the International Space Station, but the agency's current VEGGIE project limits plant growth to tiny individualized root packets designed to hold water and nutrients. Some very large packets would need to be developed for trees. Mechiorri's invention offers a new and attractive alternative."