Neither rain, nor sleet nor snow could stop the Grand Farms Space Ag Conference 2023, associated with the University of North Dakota. Nature sure tried hard with a big blizzard, but the conference kicked into high gear in virtual mode.
Author Archives: Mark Ciotola
A New Era of Private Space Stations
Background
For the past several years, there has been much hullabaloo regarding proposed private space stations. Yet several current proposals seem much more substantive than chiefly aspirational proposals in the past. That the International Space Station (ISS) has less than one decade of expected life remaining has accelerated both investment as well as government interest and funding. Reduced launch costs provide a further foundation for the tangibility of such proposals.
STEM Growth Chamber Project
STEM Plant Cube version 1.0
Introduction
The known Universe is 92 billion lightyears in size. Yet, ironically, volume available for plant experiments in space is often limited to mere centimeters. This presents a challenge for growing plants in space for food, research and other purposes.
Consequently, inspired by the cube sat movement, SustainSpace has been developing a suite of 1U–2U cube form plant growth chambers involving minimal volume and mass. Ultimately intended for space research, SustainSpace is also developing an inexpensive STEM version for educational use on Earth, using “off-the-shelf” components.
A New Frontier In Life Support with the I-HAB
I-HAB module (Credit: ESA)
I-HAB, a seldom-discussed component of the Lunar Gateway, could have an out-sized impact on the advancement of life support systems. This module is chiefly devoted to human habitation and life support. It is being developed primarily under the auspices of the European Space Agency who has devoted significant resources towards the development of closed-loop life support. Therefore, discussion of this module deserves to be revisited.
Podcast: What happens when you put plants in space?
The HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology presents: Tiny Expeditions – A Podcast about Genetics, DNA and Inheritance.
NASA CSA Deep Space Food Challenge
NASA CSA Deep Space Food Challenge
NASA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) are inviting organizations and teams of individuals the Deep Space Food Challenge invites teams to create novel and game-changing food technologies or systems that require minimal inputs and maximize safe, nutritious, and palatable food outputs for long-duration space missions, and which have potential to benefit people on Earth.
This is an international competition. NASA and CSA are offering hundreds of thousands of dollars of cash challenges, and others can get the glory of recognition.
Nanoracks StarLab AgTech Space Farming Center
Rendering of greenhouses mounted externally to the Nanoracks Bishop Airlock on the ISS. Credit: Nanoracks / Mack Crawford
The Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) has announced that they are partnering with Nanoracks via their Agriculture Technology (AgTech) Incentive Program, an effort that supports the development of cutting-edge programs to boost the emirate’s AgTech capabilities and promote innovation.
Space Habitats for Lunar Gateway
iHab interior (credit: Vienna Region)
Original raisons d’être for the Lunar Gateway were to study long-term human endurance and sustainable life support in a deep space environment, and prepare for missions to Mars and the asteroids. The Lunar Gateway was renamed the Deep Space Gateway as part of the big push for the Artemis program. What is the current state of plans for life support and space habitation on the Lunar Gateway?