Growing up, Grant Lach spent a lot of time outside viewing meteor showers, comets and lunar and solar eclipses. The out-of-this-world experiences fueled his passion for space and led Lach, 19, to major in astronomy and astrophysics at Ohio State University.
Lach, who was a member of the Bloom Carroll FFA in Carroll, Ohio, ran for the state officer team. Earning a spot changed his career plans. The college sophomore recognized there were opportunities to pursue both agriculture and outer space with a career as a space farmer.
“NASA is investing $1.6 billion in the Artemis Projectto take people to the moon by 2024,” he says. “Agriculture is the corner of civilization, and if we’re intending to continue to colonize places beyond Earth, it’s important to figure out how to provide sustainable nutrition with limited resources on other planets.”
Lach secured a coveted role on the social media team helping NASA promote its SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch at Cape Canaveral. He hopes to make connections within the organization that will help him land a job after he graduates. He credits FFA with helping him identify a burgeoning career path.
“Being part of FFA and getting involved at deep levels opens your eyes to things other people might never know even existed,” he says.
