Astro-horticulture

[bridgwater]

Being trained as a horticulturist, I am particularly interested in astro-horticulture. This being a relatively new area, does anyone have any input about it? I know recently they carried out an experiment at the space station whre they grew 10 stocks of wheat (showing just how far we have to go...), and the astronauts commented on how unbelievably pleasing it was to carry out such a "human" activity. Will funding increase as we begin seriously looking at manned space exploration? Any programs out there for budding astro-horticulturists? (And please do not mention Bruce Dern movies, ha ha)

 

[CalliArcale]

Oh yes, I know JSC has some very active programs investigating this stuff. You'd have to be willing to move to Houston, Texas, but this is definitely an active area of research -- and a growing one too (if you'll pardon the pun).<br /><br />The really cool thing about the wheat was that they grew more wheat from the seeds -- they got more than one generation of wheat! Right now, the accomodations for plants are pretty small on the station; experiments are limited to a maximum size of one Destiny experiment rack, which is about the size of a refrigerator. And you have to compete with other experiments for the same slot. The hope is that one day plants will not only provide food in space, but also assist with oxygen generation, CO2 scrubbing, water filtration, and waste processing. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>

 

[rogers_buck]

Your mixing up your sci-fis. Astro was Roy Jetson's dog. It was Spock who discovered horta culture after a mind meld. Sheesh...

 

[bridgwater]

OK, found this...<br />http://advlifesupport.jsc.nasa.gov/Crops/index.html<br /><br />

 

[nexium]

Food plants have been grown with moon dust, sunlight, air and water. They do better with ph correction and supplimental nuetrients, but that is true of nearly all soil. The windows of present space craft don't let in enough sunlight to grow plants, so artificial sun light is used. Power for more than a few grow lights is likely to be a continuing problem. Craft with transparent skin or lots of large windows compromise other, space craft needs and wants. Plants take up costly volume in the craft, outpost, colony and habitat needed for other purposes. Neil

 

[igorsboss]

<font color="yellow">The windows of present space craft don't let in enough sunlight to grow plants</font><br /><br />Perhaps some kind of "solatube" solution might work, to direct ambient sunlight into a greenhouse. Filters in the tube could control the spectrum. Mirrors outside the tube could enhance the quantity of light.<br /><br />Spirulina, a blue-green algae, might be terrific space-food plant. High protien, continuous harvest, CO2 scrubber, O2 generator, etc...<br /><br />See http://www.spirulina.com/<br /><br />I wonder what a large "spirulina habitat module" would look like? I suppose you might just fill it with water, add a spoonful of spirulina, and let 'em grow.

 

[bridgwater]

Very interesting. The fact that it is aquatic and does not require soil is a plus, but the weight of water-- ouch. I suppose in a colonial situation it might work. And for a small experimental sample, not too heavy. This would be a good experiment-- and the timing is right... So, shall we engineer this thing?! One question will be production time, I did not see how long it takes to produce a product. (I think I'll run off to the health food store...

 

[bushuser]

Algae make an excellent source of oxygen and er...human waste can supply most necessary nutrients. But unless you are constructing an outer space penal colony, I don't think you are going to get anybody to eat this stuff, no matter how you dress it up. <br /><br />In contrast, growing some traditional vegetables/fruit will be very good for moral on a prolonged mission. Even astronauts care about what they eat.

 

[bridgwater]

It processes into a tasteless powder, carrying more protein than any other food source making it ideal for an overall balanced diet and requiring 20x less space than traditional crops. Its a lot easier than carrying cows around, and can be put in a shake with those psychologically pleasing (see original post) fruits and vgetables... The more I think about it, I think I will get started on that design... Thanks for the tip Igorsfriend.

 

[bridgwater]

Was the New Scientist article from this year?

 

[bushuser]

Ok, you convinced me not to dismiss the idea of eating algae. I guess its just a couple of steps past sushi. I'm still going to want a tomato, spinach, and pepper occasionally on this 18 month Martian mission, just to supplement the daily Algae Instant Breakfast Drink.<br /><br />Do we assume that it can be processed into odorless, tasteless powder without heavy machinery or labor-intensive effort? You don't want the weight savings on soil to be replaced by a weight penalty for special processing equipment.<br /><br />I agree this is a complex and fascinating engineering problem, with potential big benefits.

 

[bridgwater]

I have found many people working on this issue so far, but here is a group quite far along! http://www.isunet.edu/EN/16&actuid=87&origine=333<br />Apparently many people feel Spirulina is going to be big for both Earth and space. Better find some investment ops quick, haha!

 

[CalliArcale]

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p>wtiness that the pyramids were built with bread & beer(yeast) and onions<p><hr /></p></p></blockquote><br /><br />I confess I'm not a huge beer afficianado, but I must protest that it is a lot more than just yeast. <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /> It's mostly barley and hops; the function of the yeast is really just to convert sugars in the barley/hops mash into alcohol. I don't think there's enough in there to have any real nutritional value.<br /><br />But important it certainly is. <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>

 

[bridgwater]

A researcher at NASA provided the following response about algae as part of the Life Support research there:<br /><br />Johnson,<br /> <br />There aren't any current NASA studies with algae or cyanobacteria, but there have been a lot in the past...primarily in the late 1950s and 1960s. Chlorella species seemed to be the favorite and a number of studies using chemostat production systems and even studies with mice in closed air loops with the algae were conducted. Some good reviews of that work can be found in:<br /> <br /><br />Krall, A.R. and B. Kok. 1960. Studies on algal gas exchangers with reference to space flight. Dev. Indust. Microbiol. 1:33-44. <br /><br /> <br /><br />Krauss, R.W. 1962. Mass culture of algae for food and other organic compounds. Amer. J. Botany 49:425-435.<br /><br /> <br /><br />Eley, J.H. and J. Myers. 1964. Study of a photosynthetic gas exchanger. A quantitative repetition of the Priestley experiment. Texas J. Science. 16:296-333.<br /> <br />Miller, R.L. and C.H. Ward. 1966. Algal bioregenerative systems. In: E. Kammermeyer (ed.) Atmosphere in space cabins and closed environments. Appleton-Century-Croft Pub., New York.<br /> <br />Taub, R.B. 1974. Closed ecological systems. In: R.F. Johnston, P.W. Frank, and C.D. Michener (eds.) Ann. Rev. Ecology <br /><br />Systematics. Annual Reviews Inc., Palo Alto, CA. pp 139-160.<br /><br /> <br />Averner, M., M. Karel, and R. Radmer. 1984. Problems associated with the use of algae in bioregenerative life support<br /><br />systems. NASA Contract Report 166615, Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, USA.<br /><br /> <br /><br />Averner, M.M., B. Moore, I. Bartholomew, and R. Wharton. 1984. Atmosphere behavior in gas-closed mouse-algal systems: An<br /><br />experimental and modeling study. Adv. Space Res. 4(12):231-239. <br /><br /> <br /> <br />The are some active studies with Spirulina that are being supported the European Space Agency's (ESA) MELISSA project. You should be able to find out some information on this by che

 

[igorsboss]

Spirulina has great nutritional properties, but it looks and tastes like blue-green algae.<br /><br />We know a lot about flavors. Many of them come from fairly simple molecules.<br /><br />Suppose we can isolate a few genes for enzymes which make a desireable flavor. Splice those genes into spirulina, and voila! Mint-flavored spirulina! Hot-pepper spirulina!<br /><br />Also, spirulina is a dried product. I wonder if the cold vaccuum of space could be used to dehydrate the spirulina. Would it freeze-dry in space? The cell walls would probably rupture... Hmmm... I have no idea! Naturally, such a freeze-dry unit would have to recover all the evaporated water, instead of venting it directly to space.<br /><br />A spirulina habitat module would make a neat get-away-special.<br /><br />Here are some new potential doctoral disertation ideas:<br />1) Spirulina space habitat module: microgravity cultured growth using natural sunlight.<br />2) Spirulina-based space food processing (from wet culture to space-table)<br />3) Flavored spirulina using gene splicing.<br />4) Martian-based spirulina culture and food processing.<br />5) Spirulina mutation rates under space-like radioactive conditions.

 

[craig42]

As far as I know, we're a long way from gene-splicing. Personally I wouldn't want to eat Algae unflavoured. With a big enough greenhouse there shouldn't be any reason why we can't grow normal food crops. Algae's great for converting CO2 to Oxygen though. You may find this NASA website useful. They say that <blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p>At present all kinds of food is grown like strawberries, chives, passion fruit, potatoes, various herbs, spinach, tea with various success<p><hr /></p></p></blockquote> much better than Algae Snacks, I think. <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> They have some intresting links too.

 

[bridgwater]

Thank you all for a most interesting discussion. I hope it continues!<br /><br />For my part, I am keen on the algae idea due to the protein aspect. Vegetables have their place, but no one can function well without complex proteins and amino acids, and beans require a tremendous amount of space currently to produce. I am curious why ESA (MELISSA) is working with algae, but NASA has abandoned it. <br /><br />As an aesthetic horticulturist, I feel it will be absolutely essential to have plants simply for their "human appeal," and I would be one of those sneaking favorite seeds! I suppose what we are looking towards is a holistic botanical program that includes diet, psychology, and environmental benefits...