Technical Paper
Bacterial and Fungal Communities in BPS Chambers and Root Modules
2003-07-07
2003-01-2528
The PESTO (Photosynthetic Experiment System Testing and Operation) experiment flew in the Biomass Production System (BPS) to International Space Station (ISS) on STS-110 (Atlantis) April 8, 2002, and returned on STS-111 (Endeavour) June 19, 2002, after 73 days in space. The ground control was conducted on a two-week delay at Kennedy Space Center in a BPS unit under environmental conditions comparable to ISS. Wheat (Triticum aestivum cv Apogee) and Brassica rapa cv Astroplant were independently grown in root modules for multiple grow-outs. On-orbit harvests, root modules exchanges and primings, seeds imbibitions, and gas and water samplings occurred at periodic intervals; all were replicated in ground controls. Many operations required crew handling and open access to individual chambers, allowing the exchange of microorganisms between the crew environment and the BPS modules.
