SPACE ROOTS

Lima | Have seeds will travel!

Awards & Nominations

SPACE ROOTS has received the following awards and nominations. Way to go!

Global Nominee

StarCrops: Sustainable agriculture for future space voyagers!

High-Level Project Summary

Based on the current systems NASA has, our team developed a new design for future crop production in space. This system is heavily focused on early space exploration missions that won’t be capable of carrying big facilities nor be deployed on the martian surface for extended periods of time. Star Crops is capable of reusing its growth media and recycling the transpired water by plants through the process of condensation and collection.Star Crops is not only important in the pursuit of space exploration but also can be used for investigations and sustainable development in agriculture here on Earth especially where agriculture is limited by lack of water, poor soils or hostile weather!

Link to Project "Demo"

https://youtu.be/R0l5slH6uVk

Link to Final Project

https://starcrops.wordpress.com/2021/10/03/starcrops-sustainable-agriculture-for-future-space-voyagers/

Detailed Project Description

IDENTIFYING CURRENT ISSUES IN SPACE CROP PRODUCTION


As a team, we identified the main issues to solve and focus in our design of the system:


  • Sustainability for long-duration space exploration missions.
  • A food system especially designed for supplementary nutrition production through fresh crops when pre-packaged food becomes inefficient.


HOW DID WE COME UP WITH THE DESIGN AND HOW DOES IT WORK


Selected crops for the design 


The crops to be used were selected mainly for their nutritional value, which will make it possible to supplement the food requirements of the crew. These are: lettuce (vitamin K), pea (phosphorus, vitamin C and K), carrot (vitamin A, calcium vitamin B2), basil (vitamin A and K), beet (iron, vitamin, B1 and B2) spinach (Vitamin A, B1, B2, C and iron), dill (iron, vitamin C) (US Department of Agriculture. Agricultural Research Service, 2019).


Other important criteria have also been considered for the choice of the aforementioned crops: (I) The products obtained (leaves, roots, fruits) can be consumed fresh, not requiring another additional preparation process (cooking). (II) They are short (0.2 to 0.5 meters), which allows a better use of space compared to larger crops. (III) They are annual crops of early harvest (up to 4 months after sowing), obtaining food in less time. (IV) They can be propagated by seeds, ensuring their portability and storage. (V) According to viability, the seeds are of the orthodox type, which are characterized by having a longevity greater than one year under optimal storage conditions (low temperatures, low relative humidity and low moisture content of the seed). (VI) They have a common temperature range of between 7 and 24 ° C, which allows growth under the same climatic conditions inside the spacecraft. (VII) The conservation conditions of the harvested food are the same (0 ° C and 95% relative humidity).


The importance of having a wide variety of crops lies not only in the nutritional aspect, but also in the mental aspect. It's hard to imagine consuming the same thing for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for several weeks. Encouraging the various options of dishes that the crew could prepare or being able to enjoy the smell of an aromatic plant will help them relax in their free time and feel like they are on earth (Mars, 2021).


Development of the design


To face the challenge, we propose as a team the development of a Smart Substrate System. Taking into consideration the basic layout of PONDS (Passive Orbital Nutrient Delivery System) we develop a new design capable of supporting the development of small herbaceous plants.


We started by designing the main growth media. We addressed 4 main factors relevant to the growth media: water retention, aeration, water movement and reusability. There are currently a variety of both organic and inorganic substrate to meet these requirements, therefore we propose the use of vermiculite for water retention and perlite for aeration. We selected inorganic substrates because of the easiness of its cleaning and therefore its reusability. Water movement behaviors different in space, to address this factor we proposed to solve this problem by capillary action properties of materials such as wool and cotton. We selected cellulosic sponge as the best material for this factor. Reusability of growth media is addressed by designing the system as buildable parts in order to ease the cleaning of the component parts when crops are harvested.


Figure 1. Representation of the growth media.


The idea of the mechanism of this design is to slowly let the water flow primarily through the cellulosic sponge and then spread to the whole vermiculite + perlite medium so that it covers all root zones while it develops through time. 


Next, there is a need for a water reservoir to provide the system. We propose the use of pre-packaged nutrient rich solutions for each crop. Along with some growth regulators, this pre-packaged solution will meet the hydric requirements in plant growth bearing in mind that on early missions we prioritize small crops with short growth periods. The pre-packaged solution would connect to the growth media through the cellulosic sponge by capillary action and can be opened/closed by a valve whenever it is required. We propose a buildable part to contain the pre-packaged solution, this second compartment must have enough space for different sizes of the package, although on early missions there should not be big differences for water requirements among the selected crops.


Figure 2. Representation of the proposed compartment for water reservoir as a nutrient rich solution.


Finally, we added a third compartment for the purpose of ventilation. This third compartment will have the function to provide ventilation to the whole system by using ventilation hoses powered by an air compressor. The force which the air is moving should be low enough to not disturb the growth media and cause major problems with water movement. Also, an appropriate level of ventilation should help with temperature and dryness regulation. In total, the Smart Substrate System has 3 compartments to support the growth of the selected crops on early missions.


Figure 3. Representation of a third compartment for air circulation.


Having designed the Smart Substrate System, we propose the design of the growth chamber. This growth chamber will contain the Smart Substrate System, the plants, artificial light and a vent hole.


Figure 4. Final representation of the growth chamber.


We propose that the final design of the system integrates more than one growth chamber, a list of equips and sensors, all which should be connected to a software displayed in a screen for the purpose of easy monitoring by the astronauts.


Control System


In order to control plant growth, we need to first identify the principal control variables:


In growth chamber:

  • Temperature of substrate
  • Humidity of substrate
  • Discharge air pressure 


In air compression system:

  • RPM Motor
  • Inlet pressure
  • Air tank pressure


Directly in plant:

  • Light measure


Figure 5. Controlled variables schema


Table 2. List of sensors proposed.


General control system


The general way of controlling each variable will be the following:


Table 3. Control flow chart


Finally, to inform the astronauts about the process parameters, data is collected in a server and then it is post-processed and shown in a visualization dashboard.


Figure 6. Signals and data transference schema


Data visualization interface


Context


Data visualization is really important when having a lot of data retrieved from sensors because it allows people to detect trends and make informed decisions (data-driven decisions). Regarding the user experience of the visualizer, it is also important to take into account data storytelling concepts, in order to make it easier for the user to detect these trends. At this point we will make some recommendations to build a good data visualizer for our control system.


Figure 7. Graphical interface as shown by grafana, in which you can make custom graphics from signals


A visualization dashboard schema is presented:


Figure 8. Final draft of visualization panel


Final Design


Considering all of the above, we came up with the final design:



EXPECTATIONS ON WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO ACHIEVE WITH THIS SYSTEM


Star Crops is trying to solve the challenge of sustaining a long-duration mission in space. Star Crops is capable of reusing its growth media in two steps. First, Star Crops is developed with an innovative design so it can disassemble its growth media easily. This leads to the second step, the growth medium can be easily treated with basic cleaning and disinfection such as soaking, venting and the use of UV radiation. In addition, water sustainability can be achieved in the system because it is capable of recycling the transpired water by plants through the process of condensation and collection, this process goes hand in hand with current investigations by NASA on water recycling.


Star Crops is not only important in the pursuit of space exploration but also can be used for investigations and sustainable development in agriculture here on Earth especially where agriculture is limited by lack of water, poor soils or hostile weather that causes high rates of poverty.

Space Agency Data

Our team used the available data found in the official web pages of NASA related to the topic challenge. The first web page consulted in our project is “Veggie” which is one of the current systems for crop production in space. This system inspired our project to have a design that requires astronauts to manipulate, this is important because Veggie has shown that gardening activities provide relaxation to astronauts in their daily lives. “APH” also known as “Advanced Plant Habitat” inspired our project to also be as autonomous as possible in order to ease the manipulation by the astronauts. In addition, this project is heavily influenced by the PONDS developed by NASA.

Hackathon Journey

Our experience was exciting and motivating, even though due to COVID restrictions the team were not together physically, we managed to achieve our goal. We have learnt a lot of information about what NASA is currently doing to face the challenges proposed this year. As a team, we have learnt to work together, assign responsibilities and lead the team when difficulties arise. Each team member is developing on their own career, using the knowledge received from university and applying it to the context of space exploration. This means that everyone in the team learned how to associate their career with space conditions such as micro-gravity, reduced space and self-sustainability in order to face the challenge and figure out a solution. 


Our approach as a team was to give a solution identifying the main issues within the context of viability and reality. When problems raised, we were more perseverant to finish what we started. We would like to thank NASA for the opportunity to test ourselves into solving big challenges and make it into reality, also for the opportunity to meet wonderful people who share the same motivation to be involved.


References

Tags

#SpaceAgriculture #Spaceapps2021 #sustainable #green #future #Mars #interplanetary

Global Judging

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

Have seeds will travel!

A viable food system for long-duration exploration missions does not yet exist, but it will be necessary to maintain crew health and performance. Your challenge is to design a 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.