Aeroponics in space
[edit] Space plants
NASA life support GAP technology with untreated beans (left tube) and biocontrol treated beans (right tube) returned from the Mir space station aboard the space shuttle September 1997
Plants were first taken into Earth's orbit in 1960 on two separate missions,
Sputnik 4 and
Discover 17 (for a review of the first 30 years of plant growth in space, see Halstead and Scott 1990).[SUP]
[17][/SUP] On the former mission,
wheat,
pea,
maize, spring
onion, and
Nigella damascena seeds were carried into space, and on the latter mission
Chlorella pyrenoidosa cells were brought into orbit.[SUP]
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Plant experiments were later performed on a variety of
Bangladesh,
China, and joint Soviet-American missions, including
Biosatellite II,
Skylab 3 and
4,
Apollo-Soyuz,
Sputnik,
Vostok, and
Zond. Some of the earliest research results showed the effect of low
gravity on the orientation of roots and shoots (Halstead and Scott 1990).[SUP]
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Subsequent research went on to investigate the effect of low gravity on plants at the organismic, cellular, and subcellular levels. At the organismic level, for example, a variety of species, including
pine,
oat,
mung bean, lettuce,
cress, and
Arabidopsis thaliana, showed decreased seedling, root, and shoot growth in low gravity, whereas lettuce grown on Cosmos showed the opposite effect of growth in space (Halstead and Scott 1990). Mineral uptake seems also to be affected in plants grown in space. For example, peas grown in space exhibited increased levels of
phosphorus and
potassium and decreased levels of the
divalent cations calcium,
magnesium,
manganese,
zinc, and
iron (Halstead and Scott 1990).[SUP]
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[edit] Biocontrols in space
In 1996, NASA sponsored Stoners research for a natural liquid biocontrol, known then as ODC (organic disease control), that activates plants to grow without the need for pesticides as a means to control pathogens in a closed-loop culture system. ODC is derived from natural aquatic materials.[SUP]
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By 1997, Stoners biocontrol experiments were conducted by NASA. BioServe Space Technologiess GAP technology (miniature growth chambers) delivered the ODC solution unto bean seeds. Triplicate ODC experiments were conducted in GAPs flown to the MIR by the space shuttle; at the
Kennedy Space Center; and at
Colorado State University (J. Linden). All GAPS were housed in total darkness to eliminate light as an experiment variable. The NASA experiment was to study only the benefits of the biocontrol.[SUP]
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NASA's experiments aboard the MIR space station and shuttle confirmed that ODC elicited increased germination rate, better sprouting, increased growth and natural plant disease mechanisms when applied to beans in an enclosed environment. ODC is now a standard for
pesticide-free aeroponic growing and
organic farming. Soil and hydroponics growers can benefit by incorporating ODC into their planting techniques. ODC meets
USDA NOP standards for organic farms.[SUP]
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[edit] Aeroponics for space and Earth
NASA aeroponic lettuce seed germination. Day 30.
In 1998, Stoner received NASA funding to develop a high performance aeroponic system for earth and space. Stoner demonstrated that a dry bio-mass of lettuce can be significantly increased with aeroponics. NASA utilized numerous aeroponic advancements developed by Stoner.
Abstract: The purpose of the research conducted was to identify and demonstrate technologies for high-performance plant growth in a variety of gravitational environments. A low-gravity environment, for example, poses the problems of effectively bringing water and other nutrients to the plants and effecting recovery of effluents. Food production in the low-gravity environment of space provides further challenges, such as minimization of water use, water handling, and system weight. Food production on planetary bodies such as the Moon or Mars also requires dealing with a hypogravity environment. Because of the impacts to fluid dynamics in these various gravity environments, the nutrient delivery system has been a major focus in plant growth system optimization.
There are a number of methods currently utilized (both in low gravity and on Earth) to deliver nutrients to plants. Substrate dependent methods include traditional soil cultivation, zeoponics, agar, and nutrient-loaded ion exchange resins. In addition to substrate dependent cultivation, many methods using no soil have been developed such as nutrient film technique, ebb and flow, aeroponics, and many other variants. Many hydroponic systems can provide high plant performance but nutrient solution throughput is high, necessitating large water volumes and substantial recycling of solutions, and the control of the solution in hypogravity conditions is difficult at best.
Aeroponics, with its use of a hydro-atomized spray to deliver nutrients, minimizes water use, increases oxygenation of roots, and offers excellent plant growth, while at the same time approaching or bettering the low nutrient solution throughput of other systems developed to operate in low gravity. Aeroponics elimination of substrates and the need for large nutrient stockpiles reduces the amount of waste materials to be processed by other life support systems. Furthermore, the absence of substrates simplifies planting and harvesting (providing opportunities for automation), decreases the volume and weight of expendable materials, and eliminates a pathway for pathogen transmission. These many advantages combined with the results of this research that prove the viability of aeroponics in microgravity makes aeroponics a logical choice for efficient food production in space.[SUP]
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[edit] NASA inflatable aeroponics
NASA low-mass Inflatable Aeroponics System (AIS) - achieved 1999
In 1999, Stoner, funded by NASA, developed an inflatable low-mass aeroponic system (AIS) for space and earth for high performance food production.
Abstract: Aeroponics Internationals (AIs) innovation is a self-contained, self-supporting, inflatable aeroponic crop production unit with integral environmental systems for the control and delivery of a nutrient/mist to the roots. This inflatable aeroponic system addresses the needs of subtopic 08.03 Spacecraft Life Support Infrastructure and, in particular, water and nutrient delivery systems technologies for food production. The inflatable nature of our innovation makes it lightweight, allowing it to be deflated so it takes up less volume during transportation and storage. It improves on AIs current aeroponic system design that uses rigid structures, which use more expensive materials, manufacture processes, and transportation. As a stationary aeroponic system, these existing high-mass units perform very well, but transporting and storing them can be problematic.[SUP]
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On Earth, these problems may hinder the economic feasibility of aeroponics for commercial growers. However, such problems become insurmountable obstacles for using these systems on long-duration space missions because of the high cost of payload volume and mass during launch and transit.[SUP]
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The NASA efforts lead to developments of numerous advanced materials for aeroponics for earth and space.[SUP]
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[edit] Mission to Mars
NASA's long range plans indicate that a human visit to
Mars will need to utilize inflatable structures to house the spaceship crew on the Mars surface. Planning is under way[SUP][
citation needed][/SUP] to incorporate inflatable greenhouse facilities for food production.
NASA planning scenarios also reveal the Mars surface crew will spend 60% of their time on Mars farming to sustain themselves. Aeroponics is considered the agricultural system of choice because of its low water and power inputs and high volume of food output per unit area.
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Imagine the offer "Hey, want to go on a ride to Mars? You get an xbox, free weed and enough pack food for the next 3 years!!" 
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