Two seniors beat out hundreds of global competitors—including corporate research teams—to win a $50,000 national NASA award by proving ancient Hawaiian farming holds the key to feeding astronauts on Mars.
Out of more than 100 final competitors in , ʻOhā Kanu—created by Leilani Jensen and Raven Kromer—was selected as one of five winning designs nationwide. Their design adapts the ancient Hawaiian ahupuaʻa land management system into a modern, multi-zone space agricultural framework. By integrating hydroponics, aquaculture, field crops, and orchards, the zero-waste system creates a self-sustaining ecosystem that eliminates reliance on resupply from Earth.
“One of the jokes we made was, ‘Ancient Hawaiians were the first space explorers,’” said Kromer, an astronomy and English major who publishes research under the name Raven Daegmorgan.
Ancient wisdom meets deep space tech
The project name, ʻOhā Kanu, references the young taro offshoot (ʻohā) and the act of planting (kanu). Unlike standard agricultural models that maximize short-term yield, ʻOhā Kanu focuses on long-term resilience and complete nutrient cycling.
“We drew upon traditional and Indigenous perspectives for how to produce food,” explained Jensen, a tropical agroecology and environmental science double major. “It was not about designing for maximized productivity. It was designed so that there’s always food on the table, no matter what happens.”