Japan's government and its space agency will join hands with food and tech companies to launch research on developing a sustainable food source on the moon, in an attempt to encourage the private sector to enter the space business, sources with direct knowledge of the plan said.

The public-private joint study could start by March, spearheaded by Space Foodsphere, a Tokyo-based space food research group comprised of dozens of entities including the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), seasoning maker Ajinomoto Co. and system integrator NTT Data Corp., according to the sources.

Technology startups such as bioventure Euglena Co. are also among the participants in the project to be funded by the government.