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The product of a summer internship at KSC evaluating the space crop production gaps list. Slides have previosuly gone through export control. This is a lightning talk for the NC Space grant symposium.
Presentation on why we are growing plants in space, the challenges of space crop production, and an overview of the Veggie work that has been conducted on ISS.
I am speaking about the space crop production gaps and challenges we face and how we need innovations in the area of plant health monitoring, food safety contamination monitoring, CEA IPM, understanding of and manipulation of the microbiome/ecosystem, sustainability needs, novel sensors needed, automation and robotics, and also new crops that could be developed and ways that our needs parallel those of the vertical farming industry. (Note: This presentation is in video mp4 format is only viewable by download)
Space crop production systems are being developed to grow fresh produce in-situ to supplement the astronauts’ diet, but the required ventilation rates for crops in different gravity environments remains poorly understood. The reduction or lack of buoyancy-driven convection in reduced gravity environments leads to impaired gas exchange (CO2 absorption, water transpiration and O2 release) at the leaf surface if no extra ventilation is provided, and this could lead to a reduction in biomass production in the long run. To better characterize the influence of different airspeeds on photosynthesis and be able to model this in low gravity, a chamber was designed to interface with a LI-6800 portable photosynthesis system. This paper details the design of this chamber, specifically made to measure whole-plant and small canopy gas exchange at different airspeeds. The fans provide turbulent mixing in the chamber to ensure that it behaves like a continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR)and that the residence time distribution (RTD) is the same for any fan speed; the computational fluid dynamic (CFD) model of the gas domain (the air in the chamber) hence uses a k-omega turbulence model. An airflow map of the chamber was created using anemometer measurements for the different airspeeds tested, and this was used together with the CFD simulation results to relate the experimentally measured fan outputs to actual airspeeds on top of an artificial plant. Environmental parameters (air temperature, relative humidity, CO2level) are controlled by the LI-6800. This work was funded by NASA Space Biology through the NASA postdoctoral program / USRA.
Presentation for a workshop about Martian Greenhouses being hosted by JPL about plants in space and Space Crop Production. The talk will include the state of the art, priorities of what's needed to grow plants on mars, where is today's research leading us for the future.
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden and NASA have been partnering since 2015 to conduct a citizen science education program for middle and high school students called Growing Beyond Earth (GBE). Growing Beyond Earth is a multi-classroom science project designed to advance NASA’s research on growing plants in space. GBE was implemented locally and scaled nationally under two NASA Grants. Now serving more than 250 schools and over 10,000 middle and high school students nationwide, GBE successfully improved STEM education. It also contributed student-generated data to NASA, improving NASA research on the ground and on ISS, with two student-selected crops grown in space. GBE is unique in its focus on real scientific research, enabling student “citizen scientists” to contribute data toward NASA mission planning. Each classroom receives a Fairchild-designed plant habitat analogous to the plant growing equipment aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Fairchild and NASA scientists train teachers to conduct in-classroom GBE experiments, and students then share experimental data online with NASA. As NASA looks toward a long-term human presence beyond Earth’s orbit, there are specific science, technology, engineering, and math challenges related to food production in space. During this presentation, learn how GBE is addressing those challenges by expanding the diversity and quality of edible plants that can be grown aboard spacecraft. We will share the significant scientific and educational results that have come out of this partnership and explain how we quickly pivoted to allow students to continue to contribute during the COVID-era. Finally, we will explain how on Earth, GBE is also advancing technologies for growing plants in urban, indoor, and other resource-limited settings through the GBE Maker challenge for High School, University, and Professional communities of Makers across the country to develop the next generation of space crop production technologies. These programs are supported by NASA.
A standard education and outreach overview presentation of plants in space and crop production testing with Veggie and APH. Presentation will be given to visiting Japanese High School Students. Slide 14 of presentation contains a video.
As astronauts venture farther from Earth, and stay for longer periods, the space food system will increase in importance. Crop production can supplement a pre-packaged space diet to provide nutrition and dietary variety for space crews. In future missions, bioregenerative approaches may be used to generate a larger percentage of the diet, as well as help to reduce life support system burdens and resupply from Earth. Plants may also provide behavioral health benefits to crew members living in the isolated, confined environment of a space habitat. A number of unique challenges exist for growth of plants in microgravity and on other reduced gravity surfaces like the moon and Mars. Testing with the Veggie and Advanced Plant Habitat (APH) chambers on the International Space Station is allowing us to understand the impacts of gravity and spaceflight on crop growth, nutritional content, acceptability, and the importance of plants to astronauts living and working away from Earth. We are also gaining a better understanding of food safety concerns and the behavior of space plant microbiomes and plant pathogens, but major gaps in knowledge remain. As we move from research towards operational space crop production to enable exploration, there are numerous gaps in technology, knowledge, and practice related to space crop growth that must be addressed.
As astronauts venture farther from Earth, and for longer periods, the space food system will increase in importance. Crop production can supplement a packaged diet to provide additional nutrients and dietary variety for astronauts. Several unique challenges exist for growth of plants in microgravity and on other planetary surfaces. Testing with the Veggie and Advanced Plant Habitat (APH) chambers on the International Space Station is allowing us to understand the impacts of gravity and spaceflight on crop growth, nutritional content, and food acceptability, and the importance of plants to astronauts living and working away from Earth. Ohalo 3 is a new capability being developed that will pull from both Veggie and APH as we transition from research approaches to an operational space crop production system to enable human exploration of the moon and Mars.
As astronauts venture farther from Earth, and for longer periods, the space food system will increase in importance. Crop production can supplement a packaged diet to provide additional nutrients and dietary variety for astronauts. Several unique challenges exist for growth of plants in microgravity and on other planetary surfaces. Testing with the Veggie and Advanced Plant Habitat (APH) chambers on the International Space Station is allowing us to understand the impacts of gravity and spaceflight on crop growth, nutritional content, and food acceptability, and the importance of plants to astronauts living and working away from Earth. Ohalo III is a new capability being developed that will pull from both Veggie and APH as we transition from research approaches to an operational space crop production system to enable human exploration of the moon and Mars.
A presentation at a student career panel about my research trajectory and the space crop research being conducted at KSC.
An updated outreach talk to the Connecticut Space Grant Consortium and associated classrooms. As astronauts venture farther from Earth, and for longer periods, the space food system will increase in importance, and crop production can supplement a packaged diet. Testing with the Veggie and Advanced Plant Habitat chambers on the International Space Station is allowing us to understand the impacts of gravity and spaceflight on crop growth, nutritional content, and food acceptability, and the importance of plants to astronauts living and working away from our blue home planet.
As astronauts venture farther from Earth, and for longer periods, the space food system will increase in importance, and crop production can supplement a packaged diet. Testing with the Veggie and Advanced Plant Habitat chambers on the International Space Station is allowing us to understand the impacts of gravity and spaceflight on crop growth, nutritional content, and food acceptability, and the importance of plants to astronauts living and working away from our blue home planet.
As astronauts venture farther from Earth, and for longer periods, the space food system will increase in importance. Crop production can supplement a packaged diet to provide additional nutrients and dietary variety for astronauts. Several unique challenges exist for growth of plants in microgravity and on other planetary surfaces. Testing with the Veggie and Advanced Plant Habitat chambers on the International Space Station is allowing us to understand the impacts of gravity and spaceflight on crop growth, nutritional content, and food acceptability, and the importance of plants to astronauts living and working away from our blue home planet.
As astronauts venture farther from Earth, and for longer periods, the space food system will increase in importance. Crop production can supplement a packaged diet to provide additional nutrients and dietary variety for astronauts. Several unique challenges exist for growth of plants in microgravity and on other planetary surfaces. Testing with the Veggie and Advanced Plant Habitat chambers on the International Space Station is allowing us to understand the impacts of gravity and spaceflight on crop growth, nutritional content, and food acceptability, and the importance of plants to astronauts living and working away from our blue home planet.
As astronauts venture farther from Earth, and for longer periods, the space food system will increase in importance. Crop production can supplement a packaged diet to provide additional nutrients and dietary variety for astronauts. Several unique challenges exist for growth of plants in microgravity and on other planetary surfaces. Testing with the Veggie and Advanced Plant Habitat chambers on the International Space Station is allowing us to understand the impacts of gravity and spaceflight on crop growth, nutritional content, and food acceptability, and the importance of plants to astronauts living and working away from our blue home planet.
As astronauts venture farther from Earth, and for longer periods, the space food system will increase in importance. Crop production can supplement a packaged diet to provide additional nutrients and dietary variety for astronauts. Several unique challenges exist for growth of plants in microgravity and on other planetary surfaces. Testing with the Veggie and Advanced Plant Habitat chambers on the International Space Station is allowing us to understand the impacts of gravity and spaceflight on crop growth, nutritional content, and food acceptability, and the importance of plants to astronauts living and working away from our blue home planet.
As astronauts venture farther from Earth, and for longer periods, food will become increasingly critical, and crop production can provide additional nutrients and variety for astronauts. Our work on the International Space Station is allowing us to understand the impacts of gravity and spaceflight on crops, and the importance of plants to astronauts living away from our blue home planet. What we are learning in space also translates to the future of agriculture on Earth.