“The aerogel is effective at transmitting visible light but blocks infrared radiation and is an extremely effective insulator,” says Wordsworth. This makes it very efficient at warming via the solid-state greenhouse effect, while also blocking harmful UV radiation,” he tells Physics World
The water from APH is recovered water from the plants transpiration and is pretty pure as a result as the plants have essentially filtered it. I'm not sure if there is anything additional done by the APH system itself afterwards, I don't believe so, however perhaps one of my fellow SME team members would know. This brings up an interesting point though. You can assume that biofilm will buildup within the water system of your proposed solution so discussing briefly how you would propose to mitigate buildup and clean the system would be very helpful. Also, for this challenge assume that the water you are provided to prime and top off the system is potable and provided by the transit vehicle.
The advanced plant habitat uses porous tubes embedded in a solid ceramic particulate substrate with controlled release fertilizer. The tubes flood the substrate and then water is withdrawn to maintain a certain setpoint. As the plants use water, the system, under section, replaces the used water.
You can assume that biofilm will buildup within the water system of your proposed solution so discussing briefly how you would propose to mitigate buildup and clean the system would be very helpful. Also, for this challenge assume that the water you are provided to prime and top off the system is potable and provided by the transit vehicle.
Aerogel materials may also be applied to a building's walls, attics, grounds and appliances. Aerogel blankets/panels have been developed to meet various demands, as shown in Figure 5, and commercial manufacture of aerogel blankets began around the year 2000 [2, 23]. An aerogel blanket/panel is a composite of a silica aerogel and fibrous reinforcement that turns the brittle aerogel into a durable, flexible/solid and hydrophobic material, useful for building envelopes, inside or outside. The aerogel blanket/panel products have been manufactured and sold in USA [2], Australia [24] and China
Considerations:
Useful features of the greenhouse include:
Summary of Background & Objectives
1)missions to Mars could last up to three years. In that time, the key nutrients and vitamins (such as Vitamins B1, C, and K) in currently available versions of pre-packaged foods will begin to lose efficacy and the food may also suffer a decline in palatability and acceptability.
2)Your challenge is to design a supplemental crop production system that supports a crew on a long-duration exploration mission to Mars and back to Earth
3)Your solution could take into consideration whether the system could be stowable when not in use and you should specify the size of the crew you are planning to support.
4)It may be on the return journey that nutritional supplementation from crops is more important and at that point you may consider using space that had been allocated to the prepackaged food which will have been consumed.
5)consider the transit environment. You should consider the potential implications of operating within the deep-space radiation environment and exposure to high energy Galactic Cosmic Radiation (GCR) and Solar Particle Events (SPE). Consider mission and vehicle constraints since it would be preferable to have systems that are mass-efficient, reliable, easy to maintain and operate, and that can be stowed when not required to optimize the use of volume early in the mission.
https://asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/astronauts/living-in-space/eating-in-space.asp
https://asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/sciences/food-production/growing-healthy-food-in-space-and-remote-areas.asp
Summary of "Advanced Plant Habitat"
1)The APH is a fully enclosed, closed-loop system with an environmentally controlled growth chamber. The plant habitat uses red, blue and green LED lights, and broad spectrum white LED lights. The system contains more than 180 sensors, relaying real-time information, including temperature, oxygen content and moisture levels (in the air and soil, near the plant roots, and at the stem and leaf level), back to the team at Kennedy.
2)Advanced Plant Habitat Components • Structural Mounting Assembly • Air Filtration Assembly (provides filtered air to the system) • Plant Habitat Facility Kits (includes hoses, water bags, syringes) • Science Carrier (the tray that the plants will grow in) • Growth Chamber (enclosed volume that the plants will grow in) • Environmental Control System (ECS) (Growth Chamber temperature, humidity and air flow control) • Fluid International Subrack Interface Standard Drawer (contains the carbon dioxide bottles, water reservoirs and gaseous nitrogen regulation) • Orbital Replacement Unit Component Drawer (water distribution system, power system and main computer, or PHARMER) • Growth Light Assembly (lighting system)
Summary of "Veggie"
1)Veggie runs on about 70 watts for the lights, fans and control electronics.
2)Veggie utilizes passive wicking to provide water to the plants as they grow.
3)Future plans are to have seeds embedded in a tape or film, which would allow seeds and pillows to fly independently. The space station could have a seed bank and a plant pillow bank, which would allow crews to decide what to grow
4)Growing plants in microgravity is complicated by the fluid physics and lack of convective flow.
5) the Veggie team also developed a produce-sanitizing step for leafy greens utilizing food-safe, citric acid-based wipes that are used to sanitize the fresh produce and also clean the Veggie units.
6)When tomatoes are grown in space, crew members will need to pollinate the flowers to produce fruit.
7)"Cut and Come Again” were the astronaut will only harvest the outer leaves allowing for an attempt at a longer growth of the plants
8)Each plant grows in a “pillow” filled with a clay-based growth media and fertilizer. The pillows are important to help distribute water, nutrients and air in a healthy balance around the roots
Summary of "Growing plants in space
"1)A lack of vitamin C was all it took to give sailors scurvy, and vitamin deficiencies can cause a number of other health problems.
2)The challenge is how to do that in a closed environment without sunlight or Earth’s gravity.
3)In the absence of gravity, plants use other environmental factors, such as light, to orient and guide growth. A bank of light emitting diodes (LEDs) above the plants produces a spectrum of light suited for the plants’ growth.
4)One concern was harmful microbes growing on the produce. Foods like berries, certain beans and other antioxidant-rich foods would have the added benefit of providing some space radiation protection for crew members who eat them.
5)if plants genetically engineered to have less lignin can survive and function normally in space. This could give space-grown plants several advantages, including being better for nutrient absorption when humans eat them and in making plant waste easier for composting
