Astroseed

https://ucdavis365-my.sharepoint.com/:p:/g/personal/tcelayir_ucdavis_edu/EQbg0iRNf_BGgULzIccMbnwB0xSCFbL5qKFBOb3Rcf2eTw?e=kOPQii

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PX2B3bxqY2R5Pj3L12NiBT9tqtfb6qYA/view?usp=sharing

OVERALL GOAL: Developing an improved bioregenerative life support system for long term space missions by using biotechnological improvements

PROJECT STEPS:

1. Pre-flight Research & Development:

1.1. Determining necessary hardware for the bioregenerative life support system for space missions and adapting them to the microgravity and partial gravity conditions. We need hybrid systems for both gravity conditions. These devices are supporting our main system such as microgravity-adapted autoclave devices.

1.2. Designing an improved Murashige & Skoog medium which is supported by ortho-silicic acid molecule. Here, our concentration level of silicon should be between 1.0 mM and 1.5 mM.

1.3. Designing plant growth conditions using simulated Mars soil and ortho-silicic acid fertilizer.

1.4. Designing Lsi-1 gene upregulated plants by using the deadCas9-CRISPR system.

1.5. Pre-calculation of the natural sources for selected Mars habitable areas.

1.7. Developing a healthy diet list with chosen plant sources.

1.8. Developing the bioregenerative life support system simulation by using the previous examples such as Plant Habitat-I and ensuring the system sustainability for water recycling.

1.9. Simulating the system on Mars conditions.

1.10. Determining ethical concerns for the overall project.

2. Microgravity Research and Development

2.1. Optimizing chosen genetically improved plants in vitro on a small scale on International Space Station.

2.2. Determining the effects of chosen diet list on astronauts.

2.3. Optimizing supplemental hardware on International Space Station.

2.4. Calculating the efficiency of the water recycling system.

2.5. Update the system for long-term space missions.

3. Journey to Mars

3.1. System software updates

3.2. System quality control check

4. Habitation on Mars

4.1. Establishing the system on Mars surface by using previous simulations

4.2. Creating a sustainable agriculture solution on Mars soil by using previous simulations.

4.3. Usage of Mars natural sources

DETAILS

In the project concept, the improved bioregenerative life support system where 5 different plant species that are nutritionally complementary to sustain a healthy diet for 6 astronauts is developed as a semi-automated format. For every chosen plant species, special plant mediums are designed with ortho-silicic acid supplements. In this system, the lyophilized solid medium which is prepared in single-use packages should be added to the medium compartment where the medium is prepared with a magnetic stirrer and heated before being transferred separately to space-magenta boxes underneath using the spiderweb system to distribute the medium equally. The solidified medium is adaptable to microgravity and automation minimizes the risk of contamination of plant culture which is one of the major problems of these systems. A small-scale system consists of 9 magenta boxes (3x3) for each plant; dwarf wheat, tomato, strawberry, spinach, and flaxseed. All plants provide high amounts of water expect for flaxseeds, which were specifically chosen to fulfill the need for fat, omega-3's in particular, in a healthy diet. A variety of micronutrients including calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, copper, and zinc are fulfilled in addition to dietary fiber provided by flaxseeds. Strawberries have been chosen specifically for their high antioxidant activity which is expected to aid in counteracting the damage of radiation on astronauts in space, another major concern for travel in space. Once the plants are grown in their specialized medium, they are harvested from the medium by the crew. The clean water compartment near the medium compartment rinses the magenta boxes using high pressure for initial disinfection of the system where the waste is vacuumed under the growth compartment and filtered to be reused in the system as freshwater. The boxes are sterilized in autoclaves before starting the next batch. In order to use these plants in the system, plants will be upgraded by using the deadCas9-CRISPR system. In this system for every plant, proper primers and CRISPR assay should be applied on Earth before the flight and here bioinformatics tools should be used.

In our project preparation, we used the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's official sources such as; 

https://www.nasa.gov/

https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/insight/main/index.html

https://science.nasa.gov/biological-physical/programs/space-biology

https://science.nasa.gov/biological-physical/programs/space-biology/plant-biology

https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/files/NP-2015-03-014-JSC_Plant-Research-ISS-mini-book-508(1).pdf

https://www.issnationallab.org/iss360/plant-research-in-space-is-cropping-up/

Additionally, we used European Space Agency's sources; 

https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Astrolab/Biology

As a team that includes scientists from various disciplines, we frequently follow the recent updates of NASA and ESA official pages. We easily access this information by using our previous experience. Specifically, NASA has a broad database. Thanks to this database we developed an improved bioregenerative life support system. These sources always inspired us and will continue to inspire many young scientists for the future. 

The NASA SpaceApps challenge has been an exhilarating journey. We had the chance to learn in-depth the difficulties of adapting systems created here on earth to conditions of microgravity. The inspiration we had as a team was a collective admiration of the vast universe as a whole, the desire to contribute to research that will enhance our understanding of the unknown, and the dream of founding alternative life systems there where we can not only survive but thrive. We have focused on automation, minimizing the risks of contamination, and choosing nutritionally balanced goods while keeping in mind the special requirements in the diet for humans in the space environment. Challenges of plant growth systems on space, such as being labor and time-intensive, have been solved by automating the preparation of growth medium and initial disinfection of the system which also aids in minimizing risks of contamination. Filtration of the medium that is vacuumed and fed as freshwater back to the system aids in the maximum usage of limited resources on space missions. We would like to thank the NASA SpaceApps Challenge team and NASA for giving us this opportunity. 

REFERENCES

1- https://mars.nasa.gov/news/8851/where-should-future-astronauts-land-on-mars-follow-the-water/

2- https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/humans-dont-have-to-set-foot-on-mars-to-visit-it/2020/12/15/b1df2afe-3f05-11eb-9453-fc36ba051781_story.html

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23- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/?term=lsi1

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#plantspacebiology #bioregenerativelifesupportsystem #plantbiology #Mars #longtermspacemission #astroseed

This project has been submitted for consideration during the Judging process.