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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 181 records · Page 10
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2002

Plant Growth During the Greenhouse II Experiment on the MIR Orbital Station

We carried out three experiments with Super Dwarf wheat in the Bulgarian/Russian growth chamber Svet (0.1 sq m growing area) on the Space Station Mir. This paper mostly describes the first of these NASA-supported trials, began on Aug. 13, 1995. Plants were sampled five times and harvested on Nov. 9 after 90 days. Equipment failures led to low irradiance (three, then four of six lamp sets failed), instances of high temperatures (ca. 37 C), and sometimes excessive-substrate moisture. Although plants grew for the 90 days, no wheat heads were produced. Considering the low light levels, plants were surprisingly green, but of course biomass production was low. Plants were highly disoriented (low light, mirror walls?). Fixed and dried samples and the root module were returned on the US Shuttle Atlantis on Nov. 20, 1995. Samples of the substrate, a nutrient-charged zeolite called Balkanine, were taken from the root module, carefully examined for roots, weighed, dried, and reweighed. The Svet control unit and the light bank were shipped to Moscow. An experiment validation test (EVT) of plant growth and experiment procedures, carried out in Moscow, was highly successful. Equipment built in Utah to measure CO2, H2O vapor, irradiance, air and leaf (IR) temperature, O2, pressure, and substrate moisture worked well in the EVT and in space. After this manuscript was first prepared, plants were grown in Mir with a new light bank and controller for 123 days in late 1996 and 39 days in 1996/1997. Plants grew exceptionally well with higher biomass production than in any previous space experiment, but the ca. 280 wheat heads that were produced in 1996 contained no seeds. Ethylene in the cabin atmosphere was responsible.

Salisbury, F. B.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Plant growth during the Greenhouse II experiment on the Mir orbital station

We carried out three experiments with Super Dwarf wheat in the Bulgarian/Russian growth chamber Svet (0.1 m2 growing area) on the Space Station Mir. This paper mostly describes the first of these NASA-supported trials, began on Aug. 13, 1995. Plants were sampled five times and harvested on Nov. 9 after 90 days. Equipment failures led to low irradiance (3, then 4 of 6 lamp sets failed), instances of high temperatures (ca. 37 degrees C), and sometimes excessive substrate moisture. Although plants grew for the 90 d, no wheat heads were produced. Considering the low light levels, plants were surprisingly green, but of course biomass production was low. Plants were highly disoriented (low light, mirror walls?). Fixed and dried samples and the root module were returned on the U.S. Shuttle Atlantis on Nov. 20, 1995. Samples of the substrate, a nutrient-charged zeolite called Balkanine, were taken from the root module, carefully examined for roots, weighed, dried, and reweighed. The Svet control unit and the light bank were shipped to Moscow. An experiment validation test (EVT) of plant growth and experimental procedures, carried out in Moscow, was highly successful. Equipment built in Utah to measure CO2, H2O vapor, irradiance, air and leaf (IR) temperature, O2, pressure, and substrate moisture worked well in the EVT and in space. After this manuscript was first prepared, plants were grown in Mir with a new light bank and controller for 123 d in late 1996 and 39 days in 1996/1997. Plants grew exceptionally well with higher biomass production than in any previous space experiment, but the ca. 280 wheat heads that were produced in 1996 contained no seeds. Ethylene in the cabin atmosphere was responsible. c2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd on behalf of COSPAR.

Mir Project↗
DOE OSTI2011

DETERMINATION OF HLW GLASS MELT RATE USING X-RAY COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY

The purpose of the high-level waste (HLW) glass melt rate study is two-fold: (1) to gain a better understanding of the impact of feed chemistry on melt rate through bench-scale testing, and (2) to develop a predictive tool for melt rate in support of the on-going frit development efforts for the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF). In particular, the focus is on predicting relative melt rates, not the absolute melt rates, of various HLW glass formulations solely based on feed chemistry, i.e., the chemistry of both waste and glass-forming frit for DWPF. Critical to the successful melt rate modeling is the accurate determination of the melting rates of various HLW glass formulations. The baseline procedure being used at the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) is to; (1) heat a 4 inch-diameter stainless steel beaker containing a mixture of dried sludge and frit in a furnace for a preset period of time, (2) section the cooled beaker along its diameter, and (3) measure the average glass height across the sectioned face using a ruler. As illustrated in Figure 1-1, the glass height is measured for each of the 16 horizontal segments up to the red lines where relatively large-sized bubbles begin to appear. The linear melt rate (LMR) is determined as the average of all 16 glass height readings divided by the time during which the sample was kept in the furnace. This 'visual' method has proved useful in identifying melting accelerants such as alkalis and sulfate and further ranking the relative melt rates of candidate frits for a given sludge batch. However, one of the inherent technical difficulties of this method is to determine the glass height in the presence of numerous gas bubbles of varying sizes, which is prevalent especially for the higher-waste-loading glasses. That is, how the red lines are drawn in Figure 1-1 can be subjective and, therefore, may influence the resulting melt rates significantly. For example, if the red lines are drawn too low, a significant amount of glassy material interspersed among the gas bubbles will be excluded, thus underestimating the melt rate. Likewise, if they are drawn too high, many large voids will be counted as glass, thus overestimating the melt rate. As will be shown later in this report, there is also no guarantee that a given distribution of glass and gas bubbles along a particular sectioned plane will always be representative of the entire sample volume. Poor reproducibility seen in some LMR data may be related to these difficulties of the visual method. In addition, further improvement of the existing melt rate model requires that the overall impact of feed chemistry on melt rate be reflected on measured data at a greater quantitative resolution on a more consistent basis than the visual method can provide. An alternate method being pursued is X-ray computed tomography (CT). It involves X-ray scanning of glass samples, performing CT on the 2-D X-ray images to build 3-D volumetric data, and adaptive segmentation analysis of CT results to not only identify but quantify the distinct regions within each sample based on material density and morphologies. The main advantage of this new method is that it can determine the relative local density of the material remaining in the beaker after the heat treatment regardless of its morphological conditions by selectively excluding all the voids greater than a given volumetric pixel (voxel) size, thus eliminating much of the subjectivity involved in the visual method. As a result, the melt rate data obtained from CT scan will give quantitative descriptions not only on the fully-melted glass, but partially-melted and unmelted feed materials. Therefore, the CT data are presumed to be more reflective of the actual melt rate trends in continuously-fed melters than the visual data. In order to test the applicability of X-ray CT scan to the HLW glass melt rate study, several new series of HLW simulant/frit mixtures were melted in the Melt Rate Furnace (MRF) and the contents of each cooled but un-sectioned beaker were CT scanned and analyzed. For comparison purposes, a cross-sectional X-ray image of each sample was used to estimate the melt rate using the visual method. In order to see the impact of feed chemistry on melt rate more clearly, a total of ten frit-only glasses (i.e., no waste) were also made, CT scanned and analyzed. In addition, two historical glass series which were previously sectioned were re-joined and CT scanned; the results were then compared to the visual data obtained earlier. All the work performed on these historical samples will be documented separately in another report. This report describes the methodologies used to interpret and apply the results of X-ray CT scans to the HLW melt rate study and further highlights some of the key results on the compositional dependence of melt rate and the cross-comparison of the visual and CT results.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

Quantitating morphological changes in biological samples during scanning electron microscopy sample preparation with correlative super-resolution microscopy

Sample preparation is critical to biological electron microscopy (EM), and there have been continuous efforts on optimizing the procedures to best preserve structures of interest in the sample. However, a quantitative characterization of the morphological changes associated with each step in EM sample preparation is currently lacking. Using correlative EM and superresolution microscopy (SRM), we have examined the effects of different drying methods as well as osmium tetroxide (OsO 4 ) post-fixation on cell morphology during scanning electron microscopy (SEM) sample preparation. Here, SRM images of the sample acquired under hydrated conditions were used as a baseline for evaluating morphological changes as the sample went through SEM sample processing. We found that both chemical drying and critical point drying lead to a mild cellular boundary retraction of ~60 nm. Post-fixation by OsO 4 causes at least 40 nm additional boundary retraction. We also found that coating coverslips with adhesion molecules such as fibronectin prior to cell plating helps reduce cell distortion from OsO 4 post-fixation. These quantitative measurements offer useful information for identifying causes of cell distortions in SEM sample preparation and improving current procedures.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

Fabrication of a terahertz quantum-cascade laser with a double metal waveguide based on multilayer GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructures

The Postgrowth processing of GaAs/AlGaAs multilayer heterostructures for terahertz quantumcascade lasers (QCLs) are studied. This procedure includes the thermocompression bonding of In–Au multilayer heterostructures with a doped n{sup +}-GaAs substrate, mechanical grinding, and selective wet etching of the substrate, and dry etching of QCL ridge mesastripes through a Ti/Au metallization mask 50 and 100 μm wide. Reactive-ion-etching modes with an inductively coupled plasma source in a BCl{sub 3}/Ar gas mixture are selected to obtain vertical walls of the QCL ridge mesastripes with minimum Ti/Au mask sputtering.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2026

Persistent Elevated Soot Emissions Induced by Clustered Stochastic Preignition Events

Stochastic Preignition (SPI) is an abnormal combustion phenomenon that can occur in spark-ignition engines particularly under high-load operation. SPI is characterized by uncontrolled initiation of combustion prior to spark discharge, an abnormal combustion process that can lead to severe knock events and significant engine damage. SPI has been associated with fuel properties, lubricant composition, and engine design and operation. Here, in this work, a single-cylinder test engine with a dry-sump oil system was utilized to study the SPI response of E10 and E25 fuels with a range of Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP). An automated test procedure was employed, consisting of ten square-waved load profile segments, with each segment composed of 5 min of low-load operation followed by 25 min of sustained high-load operation. These tests were replicated across multiple days of testing including a lubricant triple flush between tests, and an online Fuel in Oil diagnostic measurement. Exhaust particulate emissions were continuously measured by an AVL microsoot sensor (MSS). Elevated particulate matter emissions were observed to occur concurrently with SPI events as blooms of soot. Particularly after clustered events (i.e., multiple SPI cycles occurring within 10 consecutive engine cycles), high soot emissions were observed to persist over several days of sequential operation despite daily lubricant changes, a complete warm-up procedure, and sustained low-load operation between test segments. This result implies that the particulate emissions trends may be dominated by deposit-based effects, where higher load operation is needed to alter deposition and formation processes. The observed soot blooms were also found to correspond to a reduction in the engine fueling and the fuel engine oil dilution rate despite the engine exhaust remaining at stoichiometric exhaust operation. These observations suggest that post-SPI events, pathways for lubricant migration and consumption into the combustion chamber may occur until these pathways are closed from deposit formation or ring dynamics during extended operation. These observed sooting propensity persisted with all fuels tests, but a linear correlation was observed between the summation of soot and particulate matter index (PMI) value for each fuel as well as SPI events, proving that PMI is a crucial fuel property for reducing SPI.

Splitter, Derek [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (OR↗
NASA NTRS1972

Tropospheric range error parameters: Further studies

Improved parameters are presented for predicting the tropospheric effect on electromagnetic range measurements from surface meteorological data. Parameters are given for computing the dry component of the zenith radio range effect from surface pressure alone with an rms error of 1 to 2 mm, or the total range effect from the dry and wet components of the surface refractivity, N, and a two-part quartic profile model. The parameters were obtained from meteorological balloon data with improved procedures, including the conversion of the geopotential heights of the balloon data to actual or geometric heights before using the data. The revised values of the parameter k show more latitude variation than is accounted for by the variation of g. This excess variation of k indicates a small latitude variation in the mean molecular weight of air and yields information about the latitude-varying water vapor content of air.

Hopfield, H. S.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Optimization of the propulsion cycles for advanced shuttles. II - Performance model methodology

In 1988 computer codes from NASA and DLR were combined to analyze and optimize rocket engines for advance launch vehicles. Further effort has addressed performance propulsion parameters such as chamber pressure, cycle selection (including mixed and tripropellant cycles), nozzle extension, and new technologies. Results of the study indicate that lower dry masses can be reached with the staged combustion cycle than with the gas-generator cycle, using oxygen/hydrogen at relatively high mixture ratio (7:1) and modest chamber pressure (220 bar). For low dry masses the staged combustion cycle is only excelled by the dual-expander cycle using hydrogen and propane as fuels. The emphasis here is to explain the procedure and boundary conditions used for the analysis and the variety of configurations treated, as well as to demonstrate the methods used by presenting some of the major results.

Manski, Detlef↗
NASA NTRS2002

Specimen block counter-staining for localization of GUS expression in transgenic arabidopsis and tobacco

A simple counter-staining procedure has been developed for comparative beta-glucuronidase (GUS) expression and anatomical localization in transgenic herbaceous arabidopsis and tobacco. This protocol provides good anatomical visualization for monitoring chimeric gene expression at both the organ and tissue levels. It can be used with different histochemical stains and can be extended to the study of woody species. The specimens are paraffin-embedded, the block is trimmed to reveal internal structure, safranin-O staining solution is briefly applied to the surface of the block, then washed off and, after drying, a drop of immersion oil is placed on the stained surface for subsequent photographic work. This gives tissue counter-staining with good structural preservation without loss of GUS staining product; moreover, sample observation is rapid and efficient compared to existing procedures.

NASA Discipline Plant Biology↗
NASA NTRS1989

Senegalese land surface change analysis and biophysical parameter estimation using NOAA AVHRR spectral data

Surface biophysical estimates were derived from analysis of NOAA Advanced Very High Spectral Resolution (AVHRR) spectral data of the Senegalese area of west Africa. The parameters derived were of solar albedo, spectral visible and near-infrared band reflectance, spectral vegetative index, and ground temperature. Wet and dry linked AVHRR scenes from 1981 through 1985 in Senegal were analyzed for a semi-wet southerly site near Tambacounda and a predominantly dry northerly site near Podor. Related problems were studied to convert satellite derived radiance to biophysical estimates of the land surface. Problems studied were associated with sensor miscalibration, atmospheric and aerosol spatial variability, surface anisotropy of reflected radiation, narrow satellite band reflectance to broad solar band conversion, and ground emissivity correction. The middle-infrared reflectance was approximated with a visible AVHRR reflectance for improving solar albedo estimates. In addition, the spectral composition of solar irradiance (direct and diffuse radiation) between major spectral regions (i.e., ultraviolet, visible, near-infrared, and middle-infrared) was found to be insensitive to changes in the clear sky atmospheric optical depth in the narrow band to solar band conversion procedure. Solar albedo derived estimates for both sites were not found to change markedly with significant antecedent precipitation events or correspondingly from increases in green leaf vegetation density. The bright soil/substrate contributed to a high albedo for the dry related scenes, whereas the high internal leaf reflectance in green vegetation canopies in the near-infrared contributed to high solar albedo for the wet related scenes. The relationship between solar albedo and ground temperature was poor, indicating the solar albedo has little control of the ground temperature. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and the derived visible reflectance were more sensitive to antecedent rainfall amounts and green vegetation changes than were near-infrared changes. The information in the NDVI related to green leaf density changes primarily was from the visible reflectance. The contribution of the near-infrared reflectance to explaining green vegetation is largely reduced when there is a bright substrate.

Vukovich, Fred M.↗
NASA NTRS1981

A unique approach to fabricating precision space structures elements

A procedure of fabricating graphite epoxy columns used in the assembly of large space platforms is described. The requirement for precise dimensional control led to a unique hot resin injection process. Dry, high modulus fiber is wound over a vertically mounted steam-heated mandrel. A steam-heated sleeve or caul is slipped over the wound mandrel and resin is injected and cured in place. Approximately 200 column elements have been fabricated using this efficient process.

Cohan, H.↗
DOE OSTI2018

Exploring the Acid Gas Sorption Properties of Oxidatively Degraded Supported Amine Sorbents

Amine-supported mesoporous oxide materials have proven to be effective acid gas sorbents. While the primary application of these supported amine species has been CO 2 capture, they have also shown to be proficient at adsorbing other damaging flue gas impurities such as SO x and NO x . The precise nature of the amine (primary, secondary, or tertiary) is known to dictate the gas–amine interactions, with tertiary amines of particular interest due to their inability to adsorb dry CO 2 , favoring SO x and NO x species. The different amine sites also provoke differences in oxidative stability, when exposed to temperatures similar to those used for thermal desorption procedures. Herein we focus on the structural and chemical changes that occur in a range of class 1 (amine-impregnated) and class 2 (amine-grafted) sorbents upon oxidation and correlate these with their variation in acid gas (CO 2 , NO 2 , and SO 2 ) uptakes, as a function of the oxidation temperature. These studies suggest that oxidatively degraded or “spent” supported amine materials may have possible uses as NO x or SO x sorbents. Specifically, despite oxidative degradation these aminopolymer species maintain a reasonable level of NO 2 uptake, despite losing the ability to capture SO 2 or CO 2 , offering unique possibilities in selective NO 2 capture.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2013

Ultra-trace determination of Strontium-90 in environmental soil samples from Qatar by collision/reaction cell-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (CRC-ICP-MS/MS)

Because of the very low level of {sup 90}Sr in the environmental soil samples and its determination by beta counting may take several weeks, we developed a procedure for ultra-trace determination of {sup 90}Sr using collision reaction cell-inductively coupled plasma tandem mass spectrometry (CRC-ICP-MS/MS, Agilent 8800). Soil samples were dried at 105 deg. C and then heated in a furnace at 550 deg. C to remove any organics present. 500 g of each soil samples were aliquoted into 2000 ml glass beakers. Each Soils samples were soaked in 2 ppm Sr solution carrier to allow determination of chemical yield. The solid to liquid ratio was 1:1. Finally the soil samples were dried at 105 deg. C. Five hundred milliliters concentrated nitric acid and 250 ml hydrochloric acid volumes were added on 500 g soil samples. The samples were digested on hot plate at 80 deg. C to prevent spraying with continuous manual mixing. The leachate solution was separated. The solids were rinsed with 500 ml deionized water, warmed on a hot plate and the leachate plus previous leachate were filtered and the total volume was reduced to 500 ml by evaporation. Final leachate volume was transferred to a centrifuge tubes. The centrifuge tubes were centrifuged at 3,500 rpm for 10 min. The leachate was transferred to a 1 L beaker and heated on a hot plate to evaporate the leachate to dryness. The reside was re-dissolved in 100 ml of 2% HNO{sub 3} and reduced by evaporation to 10 mL. The solution was measured directly by CRC-ICP-MS/MS by setting the first quadruple analyzer to m/z 90 and introducing oxygen gas into the reaction cell for elimination isobar interference from zirconium-90. The method was validated by measurements of standard reference materials and applied on environmental soil samples. The overall time requirement for the measurement of strontium-90 by CRC-ICP-MS/MS is 2 days, significantly shorter than any radioanalytical protocol currently available. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2015

Experience with decommissioning of the underground reservoirs of object No.41 at NPP A1 site -Bohunice, Slovakia - 15110

A new concept of measurement procedures for clearance of building have been developed and implemented at NPP A1 (Bohunice). They are based on measurements of total RN activity per unit of surface area at the erected building according to EU Recommendation RP-113 (pure Cs-137 limit - 10 Bq/cm{sup 2}). However, as a priority the requirements of national legislation had to be complied, which, in the case of concrete structures, limits the massic activity of the concrete bulk material to be rose from the building demolition (300 Bq/kg for pure Cs-137) and surface activity of (0,3 Bq/cm{sup 2} for pure Cs-137). Advantage of the new concept is that it avoids costly whole volume measurement of building rubble (e.g. 200 L drum monitor) and potentially decreases amount of produced radioactive waste. Whole volume measurement has been replaced by whole surface monitoring of surface contamination of the walls by portable devices in 1 x 1 m grid. The methodology was implemented on underground tanks as well, whose clearance is one of the primary goals of 2. stage of the NPP A1 decommissioning project. The measurements proved that contamination on the outer side is rarely present and it is caused by overflowing or leak of contaminated water from reservoir. The most expensive clearance activities were: soil excavation around the reservoir, dry decontamination of concrete, as well as whole volume measurement of crushed concrete ruble from the top of reservoir by drum monitor. A lot of obstacles had to be overcome because of lack of experience with methodology (procedures were implemented as a pilot project), measurement and sampling techniques. During the pilot project rose other difficulties which had to be overcome. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2022

HE Production Update at JLab - Introducing an Enhanced Nitrogen Purge for Clean String Assembly

A major limitation to cryomodule performance is field emission caused by particulates within the superconducting cavities. To reduce contamination of the inner surfaces during assembly in a cleanroom, the whole string can be connected to a purge system, which maintains a constant overpressure of dry, clean nitrogen gas. Following successes of similar systems at XFEL and Fermilab, Jefferson Lab followed this example for the production of LCLS-II HE cryomodules. Implementing this system required new procedures, infrastructure, and hardware, as well as significant testing of the system before production began. This paper will summarize the implemented controls and procedures, including lessons learned from Fermilab, as well as the results of mock-up tests. Based on the latter, the system was used to assemble the first article string in April 2022, and was also used during a rework required due to issues with cold FPC ceramics two months later. The benefits of using a purge system with regards to procedure, time savings, and added flexibility for potential rework have already proven to provide a significant improvement for the production of LCLS-II-HE cryomodules at Jefferson Lab.

Owen, P. D.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Correlation of Fabrication Methods and Enhanced Wear Performance in Nanoporous Anodic Aluminum Oxide with Incorporated Molybdenum Disulfide (MoS 2 ) Nanomaterials

Wear performance is integral to component longevity, minimizing industrial waste and excess energy costs in a wide variety of applications. Anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) has many beneficial properties leading to its wide use across industries as a surface treatment for many aluminum components, but the wear properties of the coating could be improved significantly. Here, we used an electrochemical method to incorporate molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ), a nanomaterial used as a dry lubricant, to modify alloys of aluminum during AAO preparation. Using Raman spectroscopy and tribological scratch measurements, we thoroughly characterized the structure and wear behavior of the films. The MoS 2 deposition procedure was optimal on aluminum 5052 anodized in higher acid concentrations, with friction coefficients at around 0.05 (~10× better than unmodified AAO). Changing anodization conditions to produce harder films with smaller pores led to worsened wear properties, likely because of lower MoS 2 content. Studying a commercial MoS 2 /AAO film of a different Al alloy (7075) showed that a heat treatment step intended to fully convert all deposited MoS x species to MoS 2 can adversely affect wear in some alloys. While Al 6061 and 1100 produced films with worse wear performance compared to Al 5052 or 7075, our results show evidence that acid cleaning after initial anodization likely removes residual alloying elements, affecting MoS 2 incorporation. This study demonstrates a nanomaterial modified AAO film with superior wear characteristics to unmodified AAO and relates fabrication procedure, film structure, and practical performance.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS2014

Delta-Doping at Wafer Level for High Throughput, High Yield Fabrication of Silicon Imaging Arrays

Systems and methods for producing high quantum efficiency silicon devices. A silicon MBE has a preparation chamber that provides for cleaning silicon surfaces using an oxygen plasma to remove impurities and a gaseous (dry) NH3 + NF3 room temperature oxide removal process that leaves the silicon surface hydrogen terminated. Silicon wafers up to 8 inches in diameter have devices that can be fabricated using the cleaning procedures and MBE processing, including delta doping.

Hoenk, Michael E.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Large Plant Growth Chambers: Flying Soon on a Space Station near You!

The International Space Station (ISS) now has platforms for conducting research on horticultural plant species, and those capabilities continue to grow. The Veggie vegetable production system will be deployed to the ISS in Spring of 2014 to act as an applied research platform with goals of studying food production in space, providing the crew with a source of fresh food, allowing behavioral health and plant microbiology experimentation, and being a source of recreation and enjoyment for the crew. Veggie was conceived, designed, and constructed by Orbital Technologies Corporation (ORBITEC, Madison, WI). Veggie is the largest plant growth chamber that NASA has flown to date, and is capable of growing a wide array of horticultural crops. It was designed for low energy usage, low launch mass and stowage volume, and minimal crew time requirements. The Veggie flight hardware consists of a light cap containing red (630 nanometers), blue, (455 nanometers) and green (530 nanometers) light emitting diodes. Interfacing with the light cap is an extendable bellows baseplate secured to the light cap via magnetic closures and stabilized with extensible flexible arms. The baseplate contains vents allowing air from the ISS cabin to be pulled through the plant growth area by a fan in the light cap. The baseplate holds a Veggie root mat reservoir that will supply water to plant pillows attached via elastic cords. Plant pillows are packages of growth media and seeds that will be sent to ISS dry and installed and hydrated on orbit. Pillows can be constructed in various sizes for different plant types. Watering will be via passive wicking from the root mat to the pillows. Science procedures will include photography or videography, plant thinning, pollination, harvesting, microbial sampling, water sampling, etcetera. Veggie is one of the ISS flight options currently available for research investigations on plants. The Plant Habitat (PH) is being designed and constructed through a NASA-ORBITEC collaboration, and is scheduled to fly on ISS around 2016. This large plant chamber will control light quality, level, and timing, temperature, CO2, relative humidity, and irrigation, while scrubbing ethylene. Additional monitoring capabilities include leaf temperature sensing and root zone moisture and oxygen sensing. The PH light cap will have red (630 nanometers), blue (450 nanometers), green (525 nanometers), far red (730 nanometers) and broad spectrum white light emitting diodes. There will be several internal cameras to monitor and record plant growth and operations.

Space Biology↗