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A long-duration lunar outpost will rely entirely upon imported or preserved foods to sustain the crew during early Lunar missions. Fresh, perishable foods (e.g. salad crops) would be consumed by the crew soon after delivery by the re-supply missions, and can provide a supplement to the diet rich in antioxidants (bioprotectants) that would serve as a countermeasure to radiation exposure. Although controlled environment research has been carried out on the growth of salad crops under a range of environmental conditions, there has been no demonstration of sustainable production in a flight-like system under conditions that might be encountered in space. Several fundamental challenges that must be overcome in order to achieve sustained salad crop production under the power, volume and mass constraints of early Lunar outposts include; growing multiple species, sustaining productivity through multiple plantings, and minimizing time for crew operations.

Because of mass and power constraints in spacecraft, plant growth units designed for spaceflight have limited volume and low photosynthetic photon flux (PPF). Sufficient lighting and nutrient delivery are basic challenges to the success of supporting long-term plant growth in space. At the Kennedy Space Center, plant lighting and nutrient delivery hardware currently under NASA-sponsored development are being evaluated to define some of the fundamental issues associated with producing different fresh salad crops. Lettuce crops performed well under all nutrient delivery systems and lighting sources tested. Spinach and radish yields were lower in the presence of zeoponic media (using an ASTROCULTURE™ root tray) relative to plant grown in conventional NFT systems. Within each nutrient delivery system, yields of salad crops under red LEDs + blue light were similar to those crops grown under conventional white light.

The first spaceflight opportunities for Advanced Life Support (ALS) Project testing with plants will likely occur with missions on vehicles in Low Earth Orbit, such as the International Space Station (ISS). In these settings, plant production systems would likely be small chambers with limited electrical power. Such systems are adequate for salad-type crops that provide moderate quantities of fresh, flavorful foods to supplement the crew diet. Successful operation of salad crop systems in the space environment requires extensive ground-based testing with horticultural methodologies that meet expected mission constraints. At Kennedy Space Center, cultivars of radish, onion, and lettuce are being compared for performance under these “flight-like” conditions.

Growth Temperatures And Lighting Intensity Are Key Factors That Directly Impact The Design, Engineering, And Horticultural Practices Of Sustainable Life-Support Systems For Future Long-Term Space Missions. The Effects Of Exposure Of Lettuce (Cv. Flandria), Radish (Cv. Cherry Bomb Ii). And Green Onion (Cv. Kinka) Plants To Controlled Environment Temperatures (Constant Day/Night Temperature Of 22, 25, Or 28 °C) And Lighting Intensities (8.6, 17.2, Or 25.8 Mol M−2 D−1 Photosynthetic Photon Flux [Ppf]) At Elevated Co2 (1200 µMol Mol−1) Was Investigated To Ascertain Overall Yield Responses. Following 35 Days Growth, The Yields Of Lettuce Indicated That Increasing The Growing Temperature From 22 To 28°C Slightly Increased The Edible Fresh Mass Of Individual Plants. However, Even Though Lettuce Plants Grown Under High Ppf Had The Highest Fresh Mass, The Resultant Increase In The Incidence And Severity Of Tipburn Reduced The Overall Quality Of The Lettuce Head.

A primary challenge for supporting plants in space is to provide as much photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) as possible, while conserving electrical power. Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and microwave lamps are innovative artificial lighting technologies with several appealing features for supporting plant growth in controlled environments. Because of their rugged design, small mass and volume, and narrow spectral output, red and blue LEDs are particularly suited for outfitting plant growth hardware in spaceflight systems. The sulfur-microwave electrode-less high-intensity discharge (HID) produces a bright broad-spectrum visible light at a higher electrical conversion efficiency than conventional light sources. Experiments compared the performance and productivity of spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) grown under conventional lighting sources (high-pressure sodium and cool-white fluorescent lamps) with microwave lamps and various wavelengths of red LEDs.

As part of NASA’s continued interest in the feasibility of Bioregenerative Life Support Systems (BLSS), research has focused on increasing the efficiency of bioregenerative technology. To reduce the costs associated with recovery of plant nutrients from inedible crop biomass, composting combined with leaching appears to be an attractive alternative to continuously stirred tank reactors. Tests at Kennedy Space Center investigating the effects of pre-processing of inedible wheat biomass composted for 21 days prior to leaching on nutrient recovery and growth of a subsequent wheat crop have been performed. In long-term hydroponic tests, pre-processed compost leachate was amended with reagent grade nutrients to approximate half-strength Hoagland’s solution. Although reductions in growth and yield were observed for plants grown on pre-processed compost leachate compared to the control, the differences were not statistically significant.

Under certain nutrient solution management practices in hydroponic systems, sweetpotato [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.] plants can exhibit excessive shoot growth and reduced storage root yield. An experiment was conducted which compared sweetpotato production in nutrient film technique (NFT) systems either with daily nutrient solution replenishment + real-time pH control or with nutrient solution replenishment 3-times per week + periodic pH adjustment. Results showed that replenishment of nutrient solution on a daily basis produced excessive foliage growth with very little storage root production. Nutrient solution replenishment 3-times per week produced manageable vine growth and respectable storage root yields.