Space Seed Holdings Introduces Space Research to Students at Science Castle Asia 2026
Space Seed Holdings Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and CEO: Kengo Suzuki; “SSHD”) took part in Science Castle Asia 2026, an international conference for junior and senior high school students, held on August 22 and 23, 2026, at Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia.
Spacenome Lab., Inc. (Headquarters: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Daigo Fujita; “Spacenome”), in which SSHD has invested, was a Supporting Partner of the conference and hosted a booth where SSHD introduced its space research. Kengo Suzuki attended in person and spoke with students, teachers and researchers who visited the booth.
Science Castle Asia is an international STEM conference for secondary school students organized by the Leave a Nest Group. The 2026 conference, themed “ADVANCED SCIENCE,” brought together students from ten countries and regions: Malaysia, Japan, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, South Korea and the UAE. There were 11 oral presentations and 137 poster presentations.
At the booth
The booth featured three programs.
AOBA: comparing Euglena growth in orbit and on Earth
Spacenome plans to fly an ultra-small cell culture module on AOBA, a recoverable small satellite that ElevationSpace Inc. plans to launch in 2027 or later. The experiment will observe how the microalga Euglena moves and grows in space.
Participating schools would culture Euglena on the ground, record the same types of data, and compare their results with the orbital data. Students would take part in each step, from research planning and culture to data collection, analysis and presentation. The team invited interested schools and teachers to participate.
SpaceAgent: autonomous experiment control
SpaceAgent is an experiment platform built around a large language model (LLM), developed by SSHD together with Spacenome, Regenesome Inc. and IDDK Co., Ltd. It is designed to support autonomous decision-making during experiments in orbit, where bandwidth is limited and connections are intermittent.
NEST LAB.: research programs for students
NEST LAB. is an online research school where students turn their interests into research projects, with guidance from practicing researchers, from setting a question to experiments, analysis and presentation. It offers four tracks: biology and Earth science, knowledge engineering, sustainability science, and robotics and AI. An English-language program for overseas students is under consideration.
Robotics workshop
On August 23, Spacenome held a space-themed robotics workshop. Students operated robots and sensors, exploring the challenges of taking measurements, controlling movement and making decisions through hands-on activities.
Why a conference for students
SSHD’s space research and development aims to place a laboratory in orbit and enable more experimental decisions to be made on board. The planned comparison of ground and orbital cultures would give students a way to investigate questions in space biology. They would plan experiments, collect data and compare their findings with observations from orbit. SSHD sees this as a way to connect its research with science education.
Spacenome has two divisions: SPACE LAB., which runs small, fast-turnaround experiments in space, and NEST LAB., which supports the next generation of researchers. Kengo Suzuki is Director of SPACE LAB. at Spacenome. SSHD contributes to both divisions with technology for space experiments and the design of research themes.
Comment
Kengo Suzuki, Representative Director and CEO, Space Seed Holdings Inc.
“I was impressed by how confidently the students presented their research in English and answered questions. We want to give them opportunities to investigate space biology for themselves, for example by comparing Euglena grown in their classrooms with cultures grown in orbit. I hope some of the students we met will go on to work in space research. Developing those future researchers matters alongside developing the technology.”
Science Castle Asia 2026
– Name: Science Castle Asia 2026
– Theme: ADVANCED SCIENCE
– Dates: August 22-23, 2026
– Venue: Dewan Tuanku Canselor, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM), Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia
– Organizer: Leave a Nest Malaysia
– Co-host: Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM)
– Presentations: 11 oral and 137 poster presentations from ten countries and regions
– Official page:
About Spacenome Lab., Inc.
– Headquarters: 1-4 Shimomiyabicho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
– Representative: Daigo Fujita, Representative Director
– Business: designing research themes that use the space environment (SPACE LAB.) and supporting next-generation researchers, mainly secondary school students (NEST LAB.). Plans to observe the microalga Euglena in orbit on the recoverable satellite AOBA. A Leave a Nest group company; Space Seed Holdings invested in March 2026.
– Website:
About Space Seed Holdings Inc.
– Headquarters: Hamamatsucho Dia Building 2F, 2-2-15 Hamamatsucho, Minato-ku, Tokyo
– Representative: Kengo Suzuki, Representative Director and CEO
– Established: January 2024
– Business: research and development related to SpaceAgent, a platform for conducting research autonomously in space and on the ground; deep tech in space and fermentation, and space and medicine
– Website:
