Could We Grow Crops In Space?

Currently, the International Space Station (ISS) astronauts are completely dependent on supplies sent from Earth to space. The crew need about 30 kilograms (66 pounds) of water, food, and air every day, and as time goes by, many cargoes will accumulate and, of course, there is a need to transport considerable money there.

However, if it is possible to plant plants at the station, the astronaut will receive fresh food and air, thereby reducing the burden of providing food to them. That is why the Norwegian scientists are embarking on a ten-year research project to study how food crops grow in space and whether they can provide meaningful and long-term opportunities for space travelers I will. Food and Oxygen Supply After all, this work can lay the foundation for investigating future feasibility of cultivating crops on the moon and Mars, but there is still a long way to go.

In cooperation with the European Space Agency, the new project TIME SCALE is led by Ann - Iren Kittang Jost, research manager at the Center for Space and Interdisciplinary Research (CIRiS) at Norwegian Institute of Science and Technology in Trondheim, Norway. Since 2006, the research unit has been responsible for plant experiments at the International Space Station, but the focus of this research is the flowering plant Arabidopsis thaliana. These experiments were conducted at the International Space Station module, the European Modular Culture System (EMCS), which helps scientists understand plant biology under microgravity conditions.

In the new project, the modules will be upgraded to match the planned new crop test. Scientists do not know which plant they are trying to plant, but have talked about lettuce, cherry tomato, soybeans. Since the conditions of the ISS are very different from the conditions on the earth, scientists need to come up with ways to keep the plants happy in this new environment.

"One of the most important tasks is to apply the appropriate amount of water and nutrients to plants under such small gravity," Kittang Jost explains to Science Nordic. In addition, because there is no air flow in the space, scientists need to ensure that the air circulates around the plant in order to prevent plants from "sucking" the same air at all times.

NASA is studying the feasibility of cultivating crops in space and is investigating the performance of a new scalable plant growing room, Veggie, which will be used at the International Space Station now. A survey called "Veg - 01" will focus on the growth and development of lettuce seedlings in aerospace environments.

Ultimately, our dream is to be able to build a closed system on the International Space Station that recycles water, nutrients, air, and waste into viable ecosystems. The idea is that the astronauts eat the food they grew up in space, and the generated waste turns into plant fertilizer, producing oxygen and more food. ESA is currently studying the feasibility of such a system and he hopes to construct a functionally closed system in space by the middle of this century.

Aerofarms is a pioneer of indoor crops unrelated to soil and sun. The company saves space and uses vertical farming to use seeds to raise dough. This system is expected to provide higher yields throughout the year. Furthermore, it eliminates the use of pesticides, reduces the amount of water used by 95%, and enables recycling of crop nutrients that would otherwise harm the environment. Likewise, Venkatesan Sundaresan, a professor of plant biology and plant science at the University of California, Davis, in order to better understand how about 250,000 bacteria in rice microorganisms affect crop growth I am studying rice. According to Sundaresan, soil microorganisms near the roots of plants have been shown to promote plant disease control and the availability of nutrients. He is studying microbial community reactions and individual bacterial functions when plants are under stress.

Most of us think that agriculture is the cultivation of local crops. Vertical farms grow by planting and planting plants. This is accomplished by using a growth shelf hanging from a wall or fence that uses less space than planting plants on the ground. Thereby, the available space is maximized. Most vertical farms are hydroponic or plant grows in a bowl containing nutrient-containing water, or grows in aerial plants, water sprays and moisture from plant roots, and plant growth Nutrients necessary to support. Neither method requires soil for plant growth. Artificial growth lights are often used with natural light.