Growing Green Space Engineers

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1-PCFpOswjMUefPucJgHLMeP4DsblcXFM/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=113901637683097500311&rtpof=true&sd=true

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1y8F1BDqDSvLTt6ReGws57rF1OICx8hcK/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=113901637683097500311&rtpof=true&sd=true

The system functions in 3 stages

Stage 1: The system is in a compressed state taking up the smallest amount of volume. The rigid control unit takes up the most volume, and reuses most of Advance Plant Habitat (NASA, 2017) with the addition of air compressors, heat exchanger and condenser. The growing chamber is collapsed, possibly vacuumed by the control unit compressor. A cap/lock for stage 2 is at the end. At this time the collapsed state allows the astronauts to store more prepared food.

Stage 2: The flexible frames are filled with pressurized air pushing the growing area into a cuboid shape. Each side of the cuboid shape is to hold a growing area for 1 astronaut, there are 4 growing areas. A column through the center of the growing area supports LEDs for light to give the plants a basis on which way to grow. Air is cycled through the columns, to the far side from the controller and vacuumed back into the controller to create air flow. A condenser captures the water expelled by the plants during respiration. Seed pillows (NASA, 2020) are inserted into a weave of structural lines, perforated water capillaries (Logan, Ryan and Mark, 2020), and sealed heat exchanging tube lines. The heated water lines maintain the growling chamber and recycle heat from the control unit. Perforated water capillaries exchange water and nutrients with the plants. The plants grown at this stage are meant to supplement the astronaut's diet with the prepared food. This system is closed until accessed.

Stage 3: For deployment on a planetoid, most likely in a habitat, the structural cap is removed and air expands the perimeter collar to flatten the cuboid (stage 2 shape). The led support structure arches over head. The area of growing beds increases to support the astronaut diet and provide surplus to dehydrate for the return trip.

The benefits of this system is to provide fresh food when needed by astronauts and the mission.

We used a lot of articles and reports from NASA on this project. The idea that inflatable structures are possible and used in the industry comes from a NASA article. We just imagined using it on a smaller scale and replace the structure for the advance plant habitat. An additional article from the ICES provided a justification to add capillaries instead of sealed water pools and wicks.

Our team found this hackathon to be a tough and exciting challenge. We are both new to hackathons and pointed to this one by our studies. On the first day of this challenge we had a lot of fun coming up with ideas. When we started looking up papers and started digging into the details, it became a bit daunting. At one point we said "How are we going to complete this in 2 days". On the 2nd day we got down to the details as much as we could. Most of the time wishing we had 1 or 2 more people to carve tasks to. I think our biggest challenge was our mental state, which we tried to tackle with breaks and tenacity. We would like to thank, Amanda Baker, Dwain Reid, Dr. Sing H Lo, and Dr. Martha E Mador for pointing us in the right direction.

Douglas A Litteken (2019) Inflatable technology: using flexible materials to make large structures. NASA Johnson Space Center. Available at https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20190001443/downloads/20190001443.pdf (Accessed: 2 October 2021)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (2017) Advanced Plant Habitat Available at: https://www.nasa.gov (Accessed: 2 October 2021)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (2020) Veggie Available at: https://www.nasa.gov (Accessed: 2 October 2021)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (2017) How Does Your Space Garden Grow? Available at: https://www.nasa.gov (Accessed: 3 October 2021)

Canadian Space Agency (2019) Eating in Space Available at: https://asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/sciences/food-production/eating-in-space.asp (Accessed: 2 October 2021)

Logan J. Torres, Ryan Jenson and Mark Weislogel (2020) “Capillary Hydroponic Plant Watering System for Space” International Conference on Environmental Systems, ICES-2020-172. (Accessed: 3 October 2021)

United States Environment Protect Agency (1995) ‘Dehydrated Fruits and Vegetables’ in AP 42, Fifth Edition, Volume I Chapter 9: Food and Agricultural Industries. Available at: https://www3.epa.gov/ttn/chief/ap42/ch09/index.html (Accessed: 3 October 2021)

NASA (2021) Have Seeds Will Travel https://2021.spaceappschallenge.org/challenges/statements/have-seeds-will-travel/details (Accessed: 1 October 2021)

#space, #plants, #Have_Seeds_Will_Travel, #hydroponics, #Kingston_University, #Engineering, #Science, #Inflatable_Structure

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