絆 -KIZUNA-

Toyohashi | Have seeds will travel!

Reach the space!! Jack and the Beanstalk

High-Level Project Summary

We have developed a modular plant cultivation kit to prevent the loss of muscle strength and bone density during the long journey to Mars. A single kit produces specific nutrients for one adult, and multiple capsules are used to cover the nutrients. The soil is TOWING's high-performance soil, which increases yield by adding microorganisms in the early stages of cultivation and fertilizer periodically. In addition, the kit will be distributed worldwide, and the plants will be grown in a wide variety of environments to find a growing environment with good yields. We will also build a system to share the growing status on a dedicated website, and develop the system as one with the earth.

Link to Project "Demo"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNZ10Yg-PFw

Link to Final Project

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1VjQ-gYCrJAjB-n5LFbNvFtrllhr2pq53cNu9SMSAnU8/edit#slide=id.gf5821d8285_1_36

Detailed Project Description

This kit grows crops in such a way that the amount of protein, carbohydrates, etc.

quired by the number of people in the kit is based on the nutrients required by an adult male.

By dividing the kit into different types for each required nutrient, we have developed a system that can produce the desired food in the desired quantity.

It has been shown that isoflavones from soybeans and resveratrol from grapes are effective in reducing muscle strength and bone density under microgravity.

By cultivating algae and creating an environment where proteins can be applied efficiently, it is possible to not only prevent muscle strength and bone density loss but also to bring variation to the diet.

The kit is composed of TOWING's high-performance soil, water recycled from urine, fertilizer, and microorganisms to ensure a higher yield than normal soil.

The kit is equipped with LEDs, a temperature sensor, a moisture sensor, and a light sensor, and the data necessary for cultivation is acquired by ESP32 written in C++ language, and the data is sent to the application created by Glide, enabling management of cultivation status and data sharing.

This makes it possible to distribute the kit to the whole world and easily share the data and photos of each cultivation, and give feedback to the development quickly.

Many of the data obtained will be applied to space development and eventually to the ground, so it is as if we are building Jack's beanstalk to connect space and the earth.

Space Agency Data

From Spaceflight to Mars g-Levels: Adaptive Response of A. Thaliana Seedlings in a Reduced Gravity Environment Is Enhanced by Red-Light Photostimulation

https://genelab-data.ndc.nasa.gov/genelab/accession/GLDS-314/

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-Knowing that LED red light affects plant growth, we changed our kit to LED light type instead of natural light type.

-We have to know the response of plants to the spaceflight environment and microgravity, so we considered a rotary kit.

Vegetable Production System (Veggie)

https://techport.nasa.gov/view/10498

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It was a clue to think about what is missing about the kits that are already in operation and what is necessary to expand to the earth.

MarsOasis - An Efficient Autonomously Controlled Martian Crop Production System, Phase I

https://techport.nasa.gov/view/94671

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To reduce wasted luggage, the food preparation system to go to Mars should have much in common with the food preparation system on Mars.

Hydroponic Rego-rock Produced In-Space for Efficient and Healthy Crop Growth, Phase I

https://techport.nasa.gov/view/94615

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Rego-rock is being studied as a soil material for plant growth on Mars.

We wanted to use similar soil materials before heading to Mars, so I investigated what seemed to be good.

Hackathon Journey

We were attracted to this challenge by the idea of how to reproduce food as a means of not only living but also enjoying life in a constrained spacecraft, and how to build a highly scalable ecosystem.

In order to increase the yield of plant cultivation in a spacecraft, it is necessary to change a large number of parameters, and the number of samples is very large if we want to cover all of them. Therefore, a kit will be provided to the inhabitants of the Earth who will eventually enjoy the results of the research, and the degree of cultivation will be shared on a dedicated website. In this way, a wide variety of samples can be obtained in a short period of time, and at the same time, everyone can enjoy being involved in space development.

In addition, although there are a wide range of requirements for the selection of food to be cultivated, the number of food to be cultivated is limited because it is essential to maintain muscle strength and bone density for activities in space, and it is necessary to balance the enjoyment of food with the functionality of food. In response, a well-balanced selection of staple foods and fruits, such as isoflavones from soybeans and resveratrol from grapes, was made to add color to a stressful life.

What we have learned through the above development is that it is important to have both the awareness to try to solve the problem for the entire planet and the expertise to incorporate it into an appropriate system, rather than simply aiming for highly efficient development. It is important to remember that development can only proceed with the understanding of many people before the results make everyone happy.