High-Level Project Summary
The “Horizontal Growhouse - Gaia” was designed with the aim of helping astronauts to obtain fresh food sources while taking up less space. The greenhouse has several sprayers, sensors and cameras for monitoring and automatic control of the planting. After collection, they are frozen for consumption and future research, and the discarded organic parts can be decomposed in the electronic composter.
Link to Project "Demo"
Link to Final Project
Detailed Project Description
The greenhouse was planned based on the model already used by NASA, the “Vegetable Production System” (Image 01), also called Veggie, and the Advanced Plant Habitat (APH). The greenhouse was designed to serve 4 to 6 crew members in space travel, with a maximum duration of 3 years, with a round trip, with measures that fit according to the spacecraft or rocket, meeting the demand for food, making it possible to consume food straight from the greenhouse.
Image 01 – Project Veggie
Source: NASA, 2021
On the structure of the proposed greenhouse, it will have two main boards of LED lamps in magenta color, this color is ideal for planting without sunlight and is already used in plantations on the International Space Station that fostered the first idea of the Gaia project ( Image 02). According to studies, blue and red light are the main inducers of chlorophyll accumulation (SAEBØ, et.al.1995). Because blue light is absorbed by carotenoids and flavonoids, blue light turns out to be less efficient than red light. Green and yellow wavelengths are reflected by plants, which produces the greenish color we see in most plants (SUN, et.al.1998).
Image 02 – First Draft of the GAIA Project
Source: Produced by the Authors
These LED boards will be located at the base of the greenhouse, thus illuminating the underside of the plant, and on the opposite side where the seedlings will be, thus providing the apical lighting. This arrangement of lights is extremely important for the plant to grow horizontally along the path of the greenhouse.
Theoretically this allows the plants to grow laterally in relation to the angle at which they were planted, thanks to Auxin, Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). Auxin was the first growth hormone studied and it is believed to be closely linked to every aspect of plant growth and development, and its production is also linked to the presence of light (Taiz & Zeiger, 2013).
As there is no gravity in space, plants grow according to the incidence of light (NASA). The polar transport of AIA does not depend on gravity, as demonstrated in the studies by Hartmann & Kester (1983), so, in general, only the incidence of light interfered in the hormone production.
In relation to plant growth and curvature in light incidence (Phototropism), the most important production area in the plant is the Coleoptile apex, although the curvature occurs below this region. Auxin is produced from the side on which the light falls, as described in the Cholodny-Went phototropism model. Lighting the base of the greenhouse would cause cells opposite the light to grow, bending the plant to the side. While the lateral lighting of the greenhouse would make the plant grow and run along the base of the projected device.
It is believed that the use of Gibberellic Acid (GA) can help the plant fill the greenhouse and grow so that the entire plant is well lit. GAs hormones are linked to plant stem growth (Taiz & Zeiger, 2013). thus making it more flexible to bend in the greenhouse, and producing more spaced leaves, thus reducing the production of shadow, which could make it difficult to absorb light from the leaves that are at the base of the plant.
In addition to this hormone, it is believed that the application of others together is necessary for the plant to develop well, these can be “sprayed” and applied to the soil through the existing pipes in the greenhouse.
Image 03 – Horizontal Growhouse Gaia at Sketechup
Source: Produced by the Authors
To create this project in 3D model, the Sketchup 2021 program (Image 03) was used as a basis for modeling and structure of the greenhouse, later this file was exported to the Twinmotion 2021 program where it was rendered (Image 04). After this step, the Adobe Premiere 2021 program was used to create the video.
Image 04 – Horizontal GrowHouse Gaia at Twinmotion
Source: Produced by the Authors
On the sides of the greenhouse there were sprinklers (Image 05) that can be used to apply substances, hormones, humidify the air and control the temperature for the plants, thus creating a stable environment for them to grow. In addition, more than 160 sensors would be installed to analyze soil and air, as well as cameras to check the structure of the plants. All these analyzes would be controlled by a team on the ground so that the crop would not need as much assistance from the crew.
Image 05 - Sprayers
Source: Produced by the Authors
The plants, when harvested, would be frozen and stored for consumption and future studies. The inedible parts and food scraps will be taken to the electric composter that will transform this organic matter into fertilizers for the next crops inside the ship. Astronauts will need to deposit the matter in a container in the greenhouse, but the entire process will be automated, and the humus produced will be automatically applied when analyzes indicate that soil fertilization is necessary.
Space Agency Data
As well as the Veggie and APH Models, a “pillow” with porous clay will be used with fertilizers to germinate the seeds and structure the roots. This form is ideal for space because the use of land would be unfeasible due to dispersion and because the water could drown the plant or not distribute the nutrients necessary for it (NASA).
All the “pillows” will be connected with tubes to transmit substances, water and hormones to the plant's soil, as well as sensors to identify the soil chemistry and balance substances.
According to Bruce Bugbee, scientists are focusing on the production of vegetables for salads and that vegetables such as lettuce and radish are already growing off Earth (Bruce Bugbee, 2021). According to Felipe Arrunda, the variety of foods available during space travel is not an issue. Because there is the possibility of choosing dishes from other nationalities. However, nutritional regulation is extremely important, requiring a nutritional team to organize food for dispatch to space.
Hackathon Journey
The data that inspired the project were those referring to plant cultures that were already being done on the international space station. The growth of plants in a weightless environment provoked great curiosity, which aroused the interest in trying to understand how it all worked, from the way the plant could rise, produce roots, settle in the earth and absorb water.
After researches looking for these answers, a photograph of an experiment with application of Gibberellic Acid in cabbage aroused interest, not because it involved space or other astronomical issues, but because it changed the structure of the plant, making it longer, because it the internodes of the plants have increased.
From this came the idea that this plant modified by the substance could be housed in a flat greenhouse, horizontally, in order to occupy less space in the ship. Thus, research was carried out to see if this plant could grow curved in relation to the axis that was planted, so that it would remain in this horizontal shape. With the theoretical confirmation that it would be possible, the project was structured for what was presented.
The challenge was very interesting to be solved, which prompted the participants to look for different answers during the project's production. The links provided by NASA regarding the challenge were of great help, facilitating the search for other necessary explanations. Previously another challenge had been chosen, but it ended up not working as we had thought, however, when the first idea about GAIA came up, all the animations were restored, and the ideas came naturally.
References
Como os astronautas se alimentam no espaço?. [S. l.], 10 ago. 2011. Disponível em: https://www.tecmundo.com.br/ciencia/12331-como-os-astronautas-se-alimentam-no-espaco-.htm#:~:text=Parte%20dos%20alimentos%20levados%20ao,chegam%20a%20se%20tornarem%20radioativos. Acesso em: 1 out. 2021.
Da Ficção para a realidade: astronautas já estão plantando alface no espaço. [S. l.], 6 out. 2015. Disponível em: https://canaltech.com.br/ciencia/da-ficcao-para-a-realidade-astronautas-ja-estao-plantando-alface-no-espaco-50317/. Acesso em: 1 out. 2021
GROWING Plants in Space. [S. l.], 12 jul. 2021. Disponível em: https://www.nasa.gov/content/growing-plants-in-space. Acesso em: 1 out. 2021.
Hartmann, H. T., and Kester, D. E. (1983) plant propagation: Principles and Pratices, 4th ad. Prentice-Hall, Inc., N.J.
PLANT Habitat-04. [S. l.], 14 jul. 2021. Disponível em: https://www.nasa.gov/content/plant-habitat-04. Acesso em: 1 out. 2021.
SAEBØ, A.; KREKLING, T. & APPELGREN, M. 1995. Light quality affects photosynthesis and leaf anatomy of birch plantlets in vitro. Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture, 41: 177-185.
SUN, J.; NISHIO, J. N. & VOGELMANN, T. C. 1998. Green light drives CO2 fixation deep within leaves. Plant CellPhysiology, 39(10): 1020-1026.
Taiz, L.; Zeiger, E. Fisiologia vegetal. 5. ed., Artmed, 2013. 918 p.
Tags
#SpaceApps #GAIA #Horizontal #Growhouse #Veggie
Global Judging
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