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The Biomass Production System (BPS) was flown on the ISS for 73 days as part of the Increment 4 mission. To obtain maximum benefit from the long mission duration, numerous manual crew procedures were incorporated into the BPS experiments. These procedures included gas sampling, root module priming, harvesting, pollination, filter cleaning, water refill, and water sampling. On-orbit crew assessments were filled out for each of these procedures to evaluate the ability of BPS to accommodate them. The assessment asked questions about each phase of an activity and solicited recommendations for improvements. Further analysis of most procedures was provided by detailed video made on-orbit and multiple post-flight crew debriefs. Most assessments indicated no need for improvements, but a number of crew suggestions will be incorporated into hardware and procedure updates.

The Biomass Production System, recently flown on the ISS for 73 days, demonstrated significant advancements in functional performance over previous systems for conducting plant science in microgravity. The Biomass Production System (BPS) was the first flight of a system with multiple, independently controlled, plant growth chambers. Each of four chambers was controlled separately with respect to temperature, humidity, light level, nutrient level, and CO2, and all were housed in a double Middeck locker-sized payload. During the mission, each of the subsystems performed within specification. This paper focuses on how the performance of the BPS hardware allowed successful completion of the preflight objectives.

In-situ resource utilization (ISRU) is an important part of current mission architectures for both a return to the Moon and the eventual human exploration of Mars. ORBITEC has developed and demonstrated an innovative direct energy processing approach for carbon-reduction of lunar and Martian regolith that can operate in a nearly closed-loop manner. Carbon-reduction of regolith produces oxygen and a variety of other useful products, including silicon, iron and glass ceramic materials. In addition, various ISRU propulsion technologies that utilize lunar and Martian resources have been developed and demonstrated. Work is also being conducted with the USDA on techniques to use biomass and waste materials to manufacture items such as shelters, furniture, filters and paper. Atmospheric carbon dioxide on Mars would be used to support the production of biomass in excess of life support needs to be used as the raw material to manufacture useful products on-site.

A common question for students to ask educators is “When am I ever going to use this?” An excellent way to answer that question is to demonstrate how interrelated many subjects are. At ORBITEC in Madison, WI, we are developing systems to help teachers demonstrate the exciting interrelationships of science, math and technology using activities related to growing plants in space. We are developing two portable plant growth systems that integrate multiple disciplines, enriching students’ classroom experiences. Each portable growth unit is based on similar principles. The Space Garden and Biomass Production Education System (BPES) are growth units for indoor use that utilize a bellows technology to create a greenhouse-like environment. The Space Garden is a personal growth unit that a student can use individually while the BPES will be 0.25 m2, allowing larger-scale experimentation. The Space Garden will be best used in classrooms of grades four through seven.

High reliability and system flexibility are driving factors in the Plant Research Unit development. Proper selection of the unit electrical and software control architecture is fundamental to achieving these goals. Key features of the PRU control design include the use of a real time operating system for main process control, dynamic power management, a distributed control architecture and subsystem modularity. The chosen approach will allow future modifications and improvements to be incorporated at the subsystem level with minimal impact to the unit overall. Hardware fault tolerance and redundancy enhance system reliability.