ANN-IREN KITTANG JOST is director of research at NTNU Social Research and head of Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Space (CIRiS), in Trondheim, Norway. The CIRiS department research and development spans across the three space areas: Life Science, Technology Development and Space Operation, as well as the areas where these fields overlap. Kittang-Jost has a PhD in Biology from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). Her academic work has been focused on studying plant responses to space conditions such as microgravity, a work that started with her master in 1995 at NTNU. She has more than 10 years of experience with integration and operations of plant research on the International Space Station through the N-USOC (Norwegian User Support and Operation Centre). With the goal to find solutions for food plant cultivation and life support in space, she has been leading national and international research in cooperation with ESA and EU Horizon 2020. An important aspect of this work has been the transfer potential of know-how and technology from Space to Earth applications such as sustainable food production. Kittang-Jost received the Spaceport Norway award for her work in 2019.