Category Archives: Astroculture

Orbital Genomics concept

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In addition to blogging, SustainSpace engages in concept and product development. SustainSpace authors Afshin Khan and Mark Ciotola have developed the Oribital Genomics venture converted with astro culture. Recently, the Orbital Genomics concept won ESA Space Explorations Masters prize. 

Problem

Plants provide food, breathable air and psychological benefits. With plans materializing for a Deep Space Gateway, Lunar Village and the Mars community, there may be a lot more people living in the lower Earth orbit and microgravity environments, besides on the International Space Station. However, food production in space is still in its nascent stage. Existing prepackaged astronaut food is not a healthy option for long haul space missions. There is no way to regularly transport fresh fruit and vegetables. It is becoming increasingly evident that we must be able to successfully grow food in space.

 

Plant experiments done on ISS have presented various challenges, such as, years of preparation, little iteration and fewer conclusive results. Furthermore, ISS is limited in its genetic analysis capabilities and there are limited astronaut hours for dedicated biological analysis. Hence, for at least the next decade or more, most analysis of plants and seeds grown in space must be accomplished on Earth, which is not feasible.

Solution

Agile approaches by Orbital Genomics aims to adapt, develop and finally grow crops in space to solve the food production challenge in lower Earth orbit and planetary bodies of interest. Additionally benefit agriculture on Earth.

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First Flowers Grown on International Space Station

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Commander Scott Kelly (Expedition 46) shared photographs of a blooming zinnia flower in the Veggie plant growth system aboard the International Space Station (16 January 2016).  “Yes, there are other life forms in space! #SpaceFlower #YearInSpace”, Kelly wrote.

Flowers growing on International Space Station

Flowers growing on International Space Station (Credit: NASA)

This flowering crop experiment began on Nov. 16, 2015, when NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren activated the Veggie system and its rooting “pillows” containing zinnia seeds. The Veggie provides lighting and nutrient delivery, but utilizes the cabin environment for temperaturecontrol and as a source of carbon dioxide to promote growth, according to NASA.

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Lettuce Garden Sent to ISS

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Veggie plant growth chamber

Veggie plant growth chamber (NASA/Bryan Onate)

A transparent plastic growth chamber bound for the International Space Station on the SpaceX-3 resupply mission may help expand in-orbit food production capabilities, and offer astronauts fresh produce.

NASA’s Veg-01 experiment will be used to study the in-orbit function and performance of a new expandable plant growth facility called Veggie. Veggie is a low-cost plant growth chamber that uses a flat-panel light bank that includes red, blue and green LEDs for plant growth and crew observation. Veggie’s unique design is collapsible for transport and storage and expandable up to a foot and a half as plants grow inside it. The roots and nutrients for the plant are contained in plant “pillows”. The investigation will focus on the growth and development of “Outredgeous” lettuce seedlings in the microgravity environment.

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To Grow Where No One Has Grown Before

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NASA's Engineering Design Challenge: Lunar Plant Growth Chamber.

Image Credit: NASA

One often comes across the saying ‘grow a plant, to save this planet’. However we’re now entering the future where the saying would be, ‘grow a plant off this planet, to save humanity’. You might not grasp the meaning at first but it is indeed quite profound. It’s the act that may save the human race from extinction several centuries from today. How? Well its quite simple, if one wants to make any planet even remotely habitable to humans, it is very essential to grow plants there first. Plants are going to be integral to closed habitats which we aim to build on the Moon, Mars and may be even Asteroids!

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ESA Closed Loop Life Support

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Arc arrrows connecting resources in a circular arrangement

MELIiSSA Loop, courtesy of ESA.

Previous postings have discussed NASA’s Contained Environment Life Support Systems (CELSS), so it’s time to share some of the limelight with the European Space Agency’s MELIiSSA (Micro-Ecological Life Support System Alternative) research program. With MELIiSSA, we bloggers will never need to leave home again assuming there will be a household version someday. All we’ll need is a computer, an internet connection and MELIiSSA, and life will become a carefree, digital bliss.

MELIiSSA “aims to develop the technology required for a future biological life support system for long term manned space missions.” In fact, MELISSA claims to go “further than other recycling systems used on Mir or the International Space Station which purify water and recycle exhaled carbon dioxide”, by attempting to “recycle organic waste for food production.” Most of the pictures of MELISSA are not very pretty, but the MELISSA loop schematic (upper left) illustrates MELISSA’s approach. MELISSA utilizes five compartments that provide an entire ecosystem loop from human food production, to human consumption to recycling human wastes:

Compartment 1: The Liquefying Compartment
Compartment 2: The Photoheterotrophic Compartment
Compartment 3: The Nitrifying Compartment
Compartment 4: The Photoautotophic Compartment
Compartment 5: The Crew

What I like about MELISSA is that technology transfer is a built-in phase of the program (Phase 4). Presently, a great deal of biological waste produced by human is not only completely wasted, but becoming a severe landfill and human health problem. MELISSA techhnology can potentially be both scaled up and down to profitably utilize this waste. MELISSA offers some exciting opportunities.

The ESA claims that a Belgian company has already used MELISSA research to “devise methods to remove as much as 85% of the solid waste left over after waste-water treatment and to convert it into water and methane gas, which can be used to generate electricity.” (See ESA posting). The Phase 4 page lists several other examples. For more information on potential opportunities with MELISSA, see Technology Transfer Programme Office.

Notes:
Quotes are from the MELIiSSA website viewed today, unless otherwise noted.
Image: MELIiSSA Loop, courtesy of ESA.

Soybean Crop Sprouting Up On The ISS

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Astronaut examining a box-like chamber of plants

NASA ISS Science Officer, Peggy Whitson looks at the ADVASC Soybean plant growth experiment in the U.S. Laboratory during Increment 5. Image courtesy of NASA).

Has astroculture has taken a ‘small sprout for plant, a giant leap for plant-kind’ on the International Space Station (ISS)? The Advanced AstrocultureTM (ADVASC) plant growth chamber is now “harvested” its second generation of soybeans. This is the first time that soybeans have been grown from seed to seed in space, and it is an important proof-of-concept advance for astroculture.

The goal of produce ADVASC is ultimately the production of high energy, low mass food sources during long duration space missions. The principle investigator was Dr. Weijia Zhou, of the University of Wisconsin – Madison (disclosure: the author’s alma mater), with the payload developed by the Wisconsin Center for Space Automation and Robotics. The ADVASC was “designed to operate relatively autonomously, providing temperature, humidity, lighting control, nutrient delivery, and data downlink with minimal crew assistance.”

The ADVASC provides only 486 square centimeters of growing area. Yet relatively large amounts of crops can be grown in small areas. In Africa, a single, low-technology, 2 meter diameter “keyhole gardens” can supply the entire vegetable needs of a small family of three or four people. With cutting-edge space technology, an even smaller garden should be able to satisfy the vegetable needs of the crew of ISS or a station on the Moon, Mars or an asteroid mining colony.

(Image, upper right: NASA ISS Science Officer, Peggy Whitson looks at the ADVASC Soybean plant growth experiment in the U.S. Laboratory during Increment 5. Image courtesy of NASA).

CELSS As A Paradigm for Sustainable Technology

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Technicians in white baggy suits in circular room full of plants.

Astroculture laboratory. Image courtesy of NASA

NASA has been working on various aspects of Contained Environment Life Support Systems (CELSS). Much of this work could be applicable to solving the sustainability challenges faced by the human race. In addition to other topics, this blog will highlight CELSS of value to sustainability. Since NASA has already accomplished some of the groundwork (pun intended), industry could leverage NASA’s work into new sustainable technologies for use on the Earth in the areas of agriculture, microculture, wate management and recycling.

Although some work still continues, funding for some of this work has been slashed in recent years. Yet planned missions will create additional demand for CELSS. This could result in business opportunities for the private sector. Companies could leverage some of their costs in developing sustainable technology by gaining contract or innovative partnership work with NASA for CELSS components.

 

(Image, upper left: astroculture laboratory. Image courtesy of NASA.)