Panspermia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSxjPSmG6k4

https://phytofungimania.earth/index.html

PHYTOFUNGIMANIA’S BACKGROUND

Astronauts use pre-packaged food to gain the nutrients they need while in space. However, some essential ones, like vitamins, lose their functionality as time passes. In a Mars exploration mission, essential nutrients will stop being available from pre-packaged food before the return. This problem could be solved with the production of fresh pick and eat crops in space. As of now, a viable food system for long-duration exploration missions does not yet exist. 

PHYTOFUNGIMANIA is a closed deployable crop production system capable of supporting the nutritional requirements of a crew of 4-6 on a transit mission to Mars and back to Earth. This system combines autonomous processes by a computer with minimum human interaction (in plant culture, harvesting, and replacement) to make an efficient system and allow astronauts to improve their mental health by being in contact with nature while supplementing their diets in a nutritious way. 

PHYTOFUNGIMANIA allows the correct germination and growth of plant seeds and fungi spores in space, with a small area and mass storage. It will provide plants and fungi the necessary medium, resources, and environmental conditions to germinate and grow nutritiously in an accelerated time. 

TECHNICAL CONSTITUTION

The system is composed of:

• Growth chamber: The chamber is a space of 2.5mX0.5mX1m. The furniture’s skeleton is composed of plastic or aluminum pieces that can be unassembled to compact the device. The skeleton is covered with a plastic cloth that is transparent from the first plate to the top and black from the first plate to the ground; the black portion is meant to protect the roots from the light emitted in the spacecraft, while the transparent is meant so that astronauts can see the growing species. It has three 0.5mX1m plates to support the plants; the plastic plates are distributed 30 cm from the top of the device, 25 cm from the bottom, and 50 cm between them; the plates are hollow to contain the plants’ substrate; each plate is imaginarily divided into 8 subunits each to support a different plant (24 plants for the complete system). A .25mx.25 m plate subunit is built for different functions in all stages of plant growth; each has two holes: the bottom hole, meant to develop the roots, but for substrate contention, has a porous cloth, and the top one is meant for stem development. The roof and two plates also contain one protected 4-led-bulb to provide light to the stems below but not the roots; each LED displays one of the following lights: red, far-red, blue, and white. Each plate contains two nebulizers( of 20 cm of length and 4,5 cm of external diameter ) pointing downwards to the roots that provide a mist solution of water, CO2, fertilizer (minerals), and phytohormones (in some cases). On one of the lateral walls of the growth chamber, there are sensors to monitor the growth environment: they monitor light intensity and wavelength, temperature, air composition (CO2, O2, humidity, mineral concentration, and phytohormone concentration). The growth chamber has two fans as opposed to one vacuum per plate division, this is meant to improve the hygiene of the system and retrieve water and Oxygen. The grown chamber will also contain a camera for the astronauts to monitor visually the crops. Each component has all the electrical components and pipelines that correctly connect the chamber with resources’ containers for good functioning. Dimensiones y materiales
• Fungi chamber: This is a small dark cubic chamber of 0.3m. It´s connected to the temperature system. 
• Computer: It will receive and control information from the different sensors in the growth chamber, will process, and will react by controlling each growth chamber component that provides entry to the different resources the plants need. The final answer and process involved in the reaction will be according to the different parameters and specifications previously determined for each different species cultivated. It regulates all of the built-in systems.
• Water system outside growth chamber: It will consist of a water container, a water pump, a condenser (with air filter), and a water filter. The vacuum of the growth will connect and lead to the condenser. The water will become liquid and will pass through the filter to drop in the water tank to close the water cycle. The water tank will be connected to the fertilizer, phytohormones, and CO2 tanks. The system is met to retrieve water prior to and O2 prior to shutdown.
• Air system: The air system consists of filters connected to six different small fans in the growth chamber. Together they will provide airflow for hygiene purposes and nutrient circulation. 
• Temperature system: This is a radiator per chamber controlled by the computer and sensors. 
• Tanks: These will be separate tanks stacked next to the growth chamber and each contains fertilizer, phytohormones, and CO2 (All tanks are made of the material that the specific system needs.)

Biotechnological resources employed for the microenvironment regulation: 

• Minerals: All plants require certain minerals in order to grow such as Na, K, Zn, Fe, Co, Mg, Mn, among others. We decided to use a product created already by NASA called arcillite, a mix of clay, substrate, patents products, and a calcined media, where some main minerals will be located to fulfill the nutritional conditions needed by the plant during the first months. In addition, the fertilizer in the mist solution will have some added minerals to be absorbed by the roots and will be dispensed in a periodic way as crucial for vegetable sustainability.

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• Plant substrate / Clay / Arcillite deep specks: As previously mentioned, the clay that NASA has developed with the name of argillite, is a viscose mixture of a wide variety of patents and compounds. It is composed of peat-based potting mix a calcined clay.
• Starch Matrix: To prevent clay expansion in microgravity, the plate will have a starch matrix in the top whole. This matrix is also invaginated into the plant substrate. At the moment of planting seeds, the seed will be placed on top of the matrix, then it will be covered with a removable transparent lid and when the seed is ready the clay (in case of expansion) can be covered with another starch matrix. Starch matrix was chosen because it is water-soluble and then provides the seeds free access to the clay.
• Phytohormones: One of the most relevant parts of our project is the interaction of vegetal hormones and fertilizers with the plant, right from the moment of germination. The usage of several phytohormones, mainly auxins, gibberellins, cytokines, abscisic acid, and salicylic acid in plants development, will help astronauts and people from space to get in a faster way processes like cell elongation. Cellular division, cell elongation, seed germination, stomatal opening, and plant systemic acquired resistance against pathogens, subsequently. The phytohormone and fertilizer concentrations will be determined and issued specifically for each species cultivated, and salicylic acid for pathogen protection. Phytohormones release will be added by astronaut order at the moment of planting seeds, plant growth, harvesting, and replacement.
• Fertilizers: commercial fertilizer will be used like “Captan”, a non-systematic broad-spectrum fungicide. It contains N-trichloromethylthio, 4-cyclohexene, 2-dicarboximide. “It is a multisite suitable to enter into an integrated disease management program, both in rotation and in mixture, to avoid or delay the development of resistance with other fungicides”(ADAMA, 2021).“Radix”, “powerful promoter of root system development with a balanced and stabilized formula of substances responsible for root development. It activates the development of absorbent hairs and helps the plant to face problems of salinity, compaction, waterlogging, drought and nematodes” (TQC,2021), and “Diatom powder”, which is a great fertilizer and insecticide, made out of a mineral called diatomite which is a siliceous sedimentary rock formed by the accumulation of fossilized diatoms. “It contains a large amount of minerals and micronutrients that are difficult to find in many fertilizers, which are generally based exclusively on nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus, leaving aside certain nutrients that, although necessary in smaller quantities, are essential for good health vegetable” (Plantea en Verde, 2021)
• Water: Water is one of the critical resources organisms need to thrive. The levels of water will be assessed by sensors measuring the levels of relative humidity in the leaves and the roots. If there are differences between the measured and the optimal determined values of the plant, a set of nebulizers will release water vapor into the environment (in case of a decrease) and will activate the ventilation and condensation systems (in case of an increment). Transpired purified water is transported to the condensation chamber, where water can be retrieved from the system to recycle for other purposes. Water will dissolve minerals and phytohormones in the air, and the solution will be absorbed by the roots. 
• Light: Light is another critical and limiting factor in a plant’s life cycle. It regulates important processes like photosynthesis, germination, flowering, etc. Researchers had proven that plants mostly respond to wavelengths corresponding to red, far-red, and blue. Therefore, the system will have LED lights of the colors red, far-red, blue, white, and infrared (for night monitoring through the camera). Light will be detected by the intensity and length wave depending on the moment of the day simulated and will be monitored and regulated by the computer.
• Temperature: We prioritize using crops in the range of temperature of the spaceship. However, for exceptional requirements, we will use a thermometer to monitor the temperature by the computer. To regulate the temperature, we will use the activation and deactivation of radiators.

Important conditions for germination like temperature and photoperiod will be established and entered into the autonomous system since the seed is planted. This process will assure the plant’s germination. For example, 5 days of 18 °C followed by one week of a photoperiod of a minimum of 14 hours of light.

In addition, emergency situations regarding plant growth are considered. For this, the emergency method considered as fungi growth. Mushroom organisms have simple requirements to grow, they need a dark chamber, humidity, and mild temperature. The proposal is to build a ready-to-water fungi kit. This kit will be composed of a substrate (organic matter, nutrients, and dehydrated mycelium already planted), a semipermeable membrane through which the fungi will grow, and markings indicating in which region it will be irrigated. This hydration process will be carried out by water injection. This injection will be done in multiple parts of the brick so that it is distributed over most of the kit, and the mycelium growing in the most moistened regions can transfer the water to the regions with a lower water concentration. The aim of the kit is to rehydrate the sporocarp (edible fungi) within one week. The sporocarp of the fungi, depending on the species, are rich in nutrients like vitamins B, C, D, E, and K; antioxidants, and essential amino acids. 

For chamber opening to harvest or species replacement, the system will have an “open” mode, several steps are considered:

1. Phytofungimania system will release ABA (phytohormone) in low concentrations predetermined for the cultivated species to close the plants’ stomata, so the plants retain the most water and nutrients. 
2. When the stomata are closed, the system through the fan and a vacuum system will retrieve the most air (water vapor possible). When the air is at minimum, the chamber will be available to open. 
3. Species replacement will take place when a plant dies, or it is required to be removed, so it doesn’t affect other plants due to potential disease. The process will be: a) open the chamber, b) cut completely the stem and the roots, c) seal the removed plant compartment with acrylic (to induce the remaining roots to hypoxia), d) after a couple of days a soluble membrane will be placed on top of the clay and the procedure to plant will be followed. 

The system that allows an opening of the chamber will also retrieve water by condensation into the original water container and filtered oxygen to be released to the spaceship crew environment. 

The matrix objective is to prevent the expansion of the clay. An astronaut will place a seed on top of the matrix and will add water. Then the hole will be covered with transparent plastic to monitor the germination of the seed. When the plant’s stem is big enough, the cover will be replaced with another plastic transparent cover with a hole for the stem. This system will allow the stem and roots to grow freely out of the plate. 

When the plastic cover is replaced, the conditions for the growth of the plant at any stage of its life cycle will remain constant, unless there is flowering or any other major situation. The system will detect and correct some essential environmental conditions. 

TEMPTATIVE CROPS: 

For the efficient production of vitamins and necessary elements, we chose 8 plants rich in vitamins B12, K, and C: 

• Spinach
• Chard
• Broccoli 
• Cabbage
• Cauliflower
• Pepper
• Tomato
• Lettuce

These crops are not only nutritionally efficient, but they are also climatologically versatile (Fig.1) and not so difficult to maintain. 

Figure 1. Temperature, photoperiod, maturing time, and optimum relative humidity requirements of the 8 ch

For fungi, we propose to culture Lentinula edodes. Which grows at a temperature range of 25°C-27°C. It has a maturing time of the fructiferous body and optimal relative humidity of 90°C. The substrate used for the mushroom kits will be sawdust because on earth it has been commercially proven as the most efficient growth medium. This species was chosen due to its high content in vitamins (especially vitamin B12), and antioxidants, the high maturation rate of the fructiferous body, and the possibility to eat it raw. 

It is well known that fungi nourish form organic matter in decomposition. Therefore, we propose that waste from plant harvesting, planting, and utilization are used by fungi to grow and create a circular sustainable system for colonies and trips in space. This is to say, add the plant waste to the mushroom kit to recycle it. We revise the scientific method of the experiment.

Question: Which type of substrate is the best one for the shiitake fungi?

Ho: The substrate constituted merely by organic residues will produce the most nutritious and biggest fructiferous body, Lentinula edodes. 

Ha: The substrate constituted merely by sawdust will produce the most nutritious and biggest fructiferous body, Lentinula edodes.

Dependent variable: Nutrimental value and size of Lentinula edodes.

Independent Variables: Substrate’s constitution: sawdust, vegetable residues or a mixture of both.

Constants: Temperature, Light, Amount of time, Environment

UTILISED TOOLS:

The tools used to develop the system were AutoCad and external documentation about the use and specifications of autonomous regulation systems.

For carrying out this project, it was necessary to use specialized space agency data to find information that was directly related to autonomous food production in outer space. Therefore, we based the project on information from NASA, CSA, and ESA.  

NASA’s open data contains lots of information about plants in space and experiments. We decided to take into consideration the units “Veggie” and the “Advanced Plant Habitat” to create our deployable crop system. We consider that we took the best from the projects and investigations, along with other sources of information and creative ideas of our own. Some original ideas were the addition of phytohormones to the system and the implementation of fungi as a new and different way to provide nutrients and protein to astronauts. We also used other types of data like the plant substrate composition that has already proven successful in space. Finally, investigation retrieved from NASA’s ISS experiments regarding plants, fungi, and bacteria was crucial to add some features to the project. The space agency data used was mainly about experiments with the veggies model, small articles like the one of “New Plant Habitat Will Increase Harvest on International Space Station” and dozens of pictures that we checked to get an idea of how seeds were treated, and the area provided in Space to plants.

ESA’s articles and recommendations about plant experiments in space were useful to inspire the fungi part of the experiment and to consider some of the space conditions that affect plants in space. This information provided a review of the studies available regarding plant physiology in space and make us conscious of possible limitations in our project like gravity and light (red and blue) implications in plants in space. 

CSA inspired us with information on growing food in space remote areas to use crops that didn’t have many specific and difficult needs to be met. It also provided us information about plant experiments on orbit to have a better understanding of how plants thrive and adapt to life in space. To conclude, it also gave us an inside of space food and how we could enhance the value of our project.

Many resources we checked were authored by these space agencies and were essential to improve our understanding of the implication and limitations of growing food in space, but also to generate new ideas for the development of the project.

There are a lot of things to be said when thinking about describing our experience in this challenge. However, we came to the conclusion that the most suitable word for it was “extraordinary”, as it required from us to think creatively about new solutions for a problem that would have an amazing impact on humankind and agricultural technology; not only for outer space, but also on our own planet.

After carrying out this amazing Hackathon, we acquired a deeper knowledge about many implications that production of resources in space have. Some of these are like: the use of aeroponic systems, the use of hormones to accelerate the growing of the different plants, the design of deployable prototypes to contain them and help them achieve this process in the most efficient way possible, adapting the lights, type of substratum, water implications like capillarity, temperature control systems, and also searching for the most suitable type of plants that can provide the food for the 6 members of the crew.

We feel grateful because we took these scientific concepts and applied them to a real life conflict, rather than just understanding them in a simply theoretical way. The reason why we decided to carry out this challenge over the others, is because we are really devoted to biology and all the solutions that it can generate for many of the important problems that are facing our society nowadays, one of which is the production of organic resources in space during long-term missions, that can also be applied to each of the urban kitchens in the world. 

For developing this project, our approach was to make a sustainable mechanism that could produce the nutrients necessary for the crew members in the fastest way, but without wasting a lot of resources like water, which is scarce inside the spaceship. That is why we included one of the most feasible cultivation methods of our modern world, the Aeroponics. During this project we went through many challenges and setbacks, always looking forward to making our best. Some of the challenges were like thinking about the different species of plants that we included on the project, figuring out at a certain moment that some of them were not feasible for one reason or another. Nevertheless, we were able to solve these issues by taking one step back, investigating, and mainly, by working as a team.

We would like to end this reflection by recalling and giving special thanks to the Space Apps mentors, for all of their advice and attention given to us. At the same time, we would like to give a special recognition to Gabriela Rodríguez Gomez Tagle, without whose advice we would have not been able to carry out the challenge the way we did. 

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#biology, #fungi, #spaceapps, #NASA, #crops, #sustainability, #traveltomars

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