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Hawaiian wisdom fuels students’ Mars breakthrough for NASA

������Ƶ Hilo seniors, Leilani Jensen and Raven Kromer.

The NASA challenge asked teams to design a system that could feed a Mars astronaut crew.

The students created a two-week menu that included peanut stew.

A mushroom burger was also part of the team’s menu.

Their design adapts the Hawaiian ahupuaʻa system for farming in space.

The duo was Inspired by Polynesian voyagers and traditional Hawaiian farming.

***Suggested VO script below***

Two University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo seniors just 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 only 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 technology

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.”

The four-zone closed-loop framework

The framework links four ecological zones where waste from one zone fuels the next. To maintain astronaut health and morale, the duo mapped more than 200 crops, programmed custom USDA nutritional tools, and curated a varied two-week menu — which they personally cooked and taste-tested over the summer.

Overcoming obstacles and beating the clock

The national win came despite a major hurdle: Kromer and Jensen discovered the contest in April — three months late. They could only begin full-time work in May after spring final exams. Balancing summer jobs and coursework, they spent nights building database tools and refining ecosystem layouts.

“We did get a bit of a late start,” Kromer said with a laugh. “But the nature of the challenge itself — supporting deep space exploration and contributing to NASA's public science programs, along with its applicability to food security on Earth, especially here in Hawaiʻi — was a strong motivator to keep working at it.”

Despite their success, both students admit the national win came as a shock.

“If my younger self could see me now, they would not believe it, because I’m a scientist and I got to compete in a NASA competition and actually won,” Jensen shared. “I’m still kind of in disbelief.”

Real-world impact: From Mars back to Hawaiʻi

Both scholars emphasize that ʻOhā Kanu’s core principles apply directly to island sustainability. Jensen, a Kamehameha Schools Kapālama graduate born and raised on Hawaiʻi Island, plans to dedicate her career to local food security.

“My ultimate goal is to increase food security and environmental protections here in Hawaiʻi,” said Jensen, who runs the 's Agriculture Club.

Next steps for the scholars

With graduation approaching in Spring 2027, both seniors will apply their prize funds toward advanced degrees. Kromer has been accepted to the University of Kent to study icy moon missions. Jensen plans to attend the University of Otago to study sustainable agriculture and Indigenous resource management, bringing newfound knowledge back to Hawaiʻi.

VO SCRIPT 

ON CAM
Two ������Ƶ Hilo students are drawing on Hawaiian wisdom to help feed astronauts on Mars.

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NASA challenged teams to design food systems for Mars missions, with limited supplies from Earth.

The students’ plan was one of five winning designs nationwide, earning fifty thousand dollars.

Inspired by the ahupuaʻa system, it connects fish farming and crops so waste from one helps nourish another.

They even cooked and taste-tested a two-week menu for astronauts. The menu included peanut stew and a mushroom burger.