PROJECT TITLE: Plant Harvest Mechanization System
TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
ORBITEC proposes to develop a Plant Harvest Mechanization System (PHARMS) for advanced life support systems. In future Lunar or Martian bases, plants will provide all three elements needed to support human life: food, water, and air. Efficient plant biomass harvesting is one key element to enable bioregenerative life support systems for these applications. Compared to manual harvesting, mechanization of these processes will substantially reduce crew time needed while increasing the efficiency, quality, and reliability of the system. The proposed Plant Harvest Mechanization System will provide adequate throughput to handle the amount of biomass generated by plant production systems and be flexible enough to handle a variety of crops, while utilizing minimal resources such as power and volume. The PHARMS process will provide stationary multifunctional plant harvest operations, and separation and collection of edible and inedible biomass. The semi-autonomous system will be designed to operate in reduced gravity environments while providing a high level of protection for crew health and safety and will meet NASA hardware specifications. During the Phase I effort, requirements, processes, and mechanical and control system design will be integrated into a Phase I conceptual design that will be used as the baseline for a Phase II prototype.
POTENTIAL COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS
Both space and terrestrial applications exist for the Plant Harvest Mechanization System. Applications include a multifunctional harvest system for ground-based ALSS research facilities, such as the BIO-Plex and other large scale test beds. In the long term, miniature harvesting systems could be utilized in Lunar or Mars bases as part of the overall CELSS. Terrestrial applications include the use of miniature harvesting systems in the areas of protected agriculture systems and other controlled environmental facilities which are generally used to produce fruit, vegetables, herb, ornamentals, and mushrooms. These systems, or derivatives of, would also have applications in agricultural/horticultural research for the mechanization of small research plots, and for small farms and market gardens.
NAME AND ADDRESS OF PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Jon G. Frank
Orbital Technologies Corporation
Space Center, 1212 Fourier Drive
Madison , WI 53717
NAME AND ADDRESS OF OFFEROR
Orbital Technologies Corporation
Space Center, 1212 Fourier Drive
Madison , WI 53717