NASA’s Growing Commitment: The
Space Garden
Consumer/Home/Recreation
Originating Technology/ NASA Contribution
Astronauts cannot live on dehydrated ice cream
alone. Like everyone else, they need their vegetables.
Enter VEGGIE, the Deployable Vegetable System, currently
under development by Orbital
Technologies Corporation (ORBITEC). VEGGIE is the
latest in a long line of vegetable production units
ORBITEC is currently working on, with NASA assistance,
to grow salad crops to supplement prepackaged foods
during long stays in space.
The primary goal of
the VEGGIE project is to
provide flight crews with
palatable, nutritious, and
safe sources of fresh food
with minimal volume and operational
resources. In addition, ORBITEC
recognizes the age-old adage
that gardening is good for
the soul, and it acknowledges
that gardens are beneficial
for relaxation and recreation.
As evidence, astronauts on
the International Space Station
(ISS), who often stay for
periods of 6 months, have
been enjoying plant experiments,
which provide them with much
missed greenery and can occupy
valuable free time with an
enjoyable task.
VEGGIE is a project that grew out of technology developed by ORBITEC for the
Biomass Production System (BPS). The BPS is equivalent in size to a Space Shuttle
middeck locker, and provides four plant growth chambers. Each chamber has independent
control of temperature, humidity, nutrient and water delivery, lighting, and
atmospheric composition.
The BPS flew to the ISS in 2002, and astronaut Dan Bursch had positive comments
about his interaction with the plants while in orbit. Astronaut Peggy Whitson
had similarly positive remarks during the following expedition while she was
growing soybeans for another experiment. Whitson reflects on her time in space
with the plantings on Expedition 5, “Although it doesn’t sound like much, it
was really exciting to see something green. I assumed that this was just because
I really enjoy plants, but it surprised me that both of my crewmates were just
as excited. They wanted photos of themselves with the plants and asked if they
could eat some of them, too!” The astronauts did not eat the plants, but these
initial experiments gave the researchers information they needed about the
basics of growing crops in space.
Partnership
Since its
inception in 1988,
Madison, Wisconsin-based
ORBITEC has received
over 160 government
contracts, exceeding
a total of $120
million. The VEGGIE
work is being done
under a NASA Phase
II Small
Business Innovation
Research (SBIR) contract,
sponsored by Kennedy
Space Center. ORBITEC
has a long history
of NASA involvement,
and currently holds
the two largest
Phase III SBIRs
ever issued: one
for the Plant Research
Unit and the other
for the Advanced
Animal Habitat,
a laboratory for
studying rats that
is scheduled to
fly to the ISS.
Its commitment to NASA and the SBIR program is reflected in the company charter,
which outlines the mission to “serve government and industry by developing
and demonstrating innovative technologies and advanced products that enhance
the quality of human life and support mankind’s exploration of the universe.”
Product Outcome
After the successful BPS flight, discussions began at ORBITEC about
innovative methods for growing plants in space to improve plant habitability
with extremely reliable yet simple systems. The company had observed astronaut
Jim Voss on Expedition 2, the second group to live on the ISS, and astronaut
Don Pettit during Expedition 6, the sixth tenancy of the ISS, attempting to
grow onions and other varieties of plants in old food bags, but having little
success due to the lack of a proper growth medium and fertilizer.
|
The
Space Garden comes with everything students and
educators need to begin their own growing experiments
at home or in the classroom. |
ORBITEC’s goal was to produce a device that individual astronauts could take
into orbit and use to grow a variety of plants for supplemental food preparation.
The VEGGIE and BPS work led to the development of the Astronaut Plant Bag
(APB), which seemed the perfect fit, as it uses the same base as the astronaut
food containers and, thus, has the same septum holder and hydration needle.
The APB can grow food on spacecraft using the existing light sources. In
addition, it has a semi-passive atmospheric control system that minimizes
water use without severely limiting gas exchange. It is small, uses little
resources, and takes virtually no time to maintain. It does not interfere
with an astronaut’s vigorous work schedule and can be maintained as a hobby;
and since APB was built for space travel, it meets all the necessary flight
requirements. ORBITEC is expecting to send APBs up with future missions as
astronaut personal gear.
The Space Garden spun out of the APB project as an outreach companion
and is a method for involving children in biology, life sciences, and agricultural
studies. Providing a classroom-based unit that duplicates the projects on the
ISS and Space Shuttle, the kit is safe for children ages 6 and up, and is recommended
for use in classrooms, grades 5 and up. It is similar to the APB, but less costly,
as it does not need to meet the rigorous demands of the flight-tested units.
The Space Garden comes with all of the materials needed
to conduct growth experiments, including the growth chamber,
seeds, watering syringe, a spongy root barrier, and the
growth medium, Lucite. The kit supplies everything an
educator needs to make use of this experiment in the
classroom, such as an educational CD-ROM, a data log,
a classroom presentation, a growth chart, and Web activities.
The Space Garden provides teachers with four experiments
correlated to National Science Standards. These include
activities related to plant growth and development, food
and nutrition in space, and the effects of gravitropism
and phototropism. It is already being used in dozens
of educational centers and is available for sale online.
|
With
its unique bellows system and hydration septum,
the Space Garden is already being used in dozens
of education centers. |
In addition to the APB and the Space Garden, ORBITEC
created another commercial product as a result of its
involvement with NASA’s bioresearch. This product, the
Biomass Production System for Education (BPSe) is a large,
ground-based version of the original BPS. Commercialization
of the growth system began with a Phase III SBIR contract,
“Biomass Production Education System (BPES),” which developed
and delivered several classroom plant growth systems
to NASA in June 2004. Under a second Phase III contract,
the hardware design was updated from the original, delivering
10 more growth chambers, up markedly from the original
4, and 12 more sensor packages. Furthermore, ORBITEC
is investigating design and manufacturing options for
reducing the unit costs as well as developing learning
modules that utilize the BPSe in classroom settings.
ORBITEC is currently proposing that the outcome of its work with NASA on the
VEGGIE be sent into orbit, providing continuous crops of fresh produce to the
ISS crews. The company is also making plans to distribute the BPSe through
programs that form partnerships among public schools, institutions of higher
learning, and private enterprises, with the goal of increasing the quantity
and quality of engineering, math, and science students.
|