Awards & Nominations
Team Semente Escarlate has received the following awards and nominations. Way to go!
Global Nominee
Spacial Food Cultivation Sistem (SFCS)
High-Level Project Summary
The Special Food Cultivation System (SFCS) is a vertical tent, which will have between 8 and 10 floors, with each containing a different nutrient. It will be developed with radiation-resistant materials, an artificial atmosphere and using the aeroponic system. The roots will be watered by sprays and the stems and leaves are going to be sprayed with a sunscreen, forming a film that will protect them from the sun's rays, lowering the temperature and increasing the ability of photosynthesis. With this equipment, it’s going to be possible to feed the astronauts on the round trip from Mars to Earth. The equipment is small and compact with an automatic sistem, with no need of human action.
Link to Project "Demo"
Link to Final Project
Detailed Project Description
The prototype is a vertical tent, with total insulation developed from the combination of plastic materials resistant to radiation (such Polyethylene and Polyurethane), using the aeroponic system, which is a cultivation technique with no use of soil. It consists of suspending vegetables in the air, leaving their roots free of earth or substrates. This uses sprayers to water the roots that are in the darkness inside a compartment that simulates the environment below ground, where the roots grow naturally, with a nutrient solution, containing everything the plant needs (including a substrate that houses specific bacteria capable of eliminating CGR or high levels of Martian radiation, fixing nitrogen and intensifying the growth of vegetables, such as strains called IF7SW-B2T, IIF1SW-B5 and IIF4SW-B5). The system will have 8 or 10 floors divided into two parts, each with a different vegetable. The atmosphere is artificial, so gases and temperature are provided under control by equipment that receives energy from an electrical panel that would also power incandescent and fluorescent lamps, which emit radiation across the electromagnetic spectrum, allowing plants to perform photosynthesis in the laboratory. In addition, to combat the dangers of SPE (solar particles harmful to the development of vegetables). The prototype has a spray system of a product that acts as a protector on the surface of its leaves and stems, because the radiation on Mars is 17 times greater than that of The Earth. Even with the system of insulation and atmosphere control, it would be good to adhere to a new option. Sunscreen developed for plants is a bet for large-scale crops, being applied with a spray, as another type of insumo, forming a kind of film on the leaves and fruits, protecting them from the sun's rays, lowering the temperature and increasing the photosynthesis capacity. Some vegetables who are able to grow with reserves of vitamins B1, C, K and other nutrients are: garlic, cabbage, broccoli, potatoes, beets, lettuce, spinach and carrots. In addition, the irrigation system and the aeroponic system will operate through a program via arduino, which is able to perform the releases automatically. We want to keep the garden as compact as possible and easy to handle, without the need for human intervention. Also, let it be able to produce during the round trip from Mars to Earth.Therefore, fewer resources and a lower maintenance cost will be required. With this, the team aims to achieve more functional systems, since the arduino is a primary system.
Space Agency Data
https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/advanced-plant-habitat.pdf
https://www.nasa.gov/content/growing-plants-in-space
https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/phenomena/galactic-cosmic-rays#:~:text=Galactic%20Cosmic%20Rays%20(GCR)%20are,explosive%20events%20such%20as%20supernova
https://www.nasa.gov/content/growing-plants-in-space
We used all this NASA data as a support and inspiration to create a new sistem using the improvements that we could bring.
Hackathon Journey
Our experience with the hackathon has been quite enjoyable and challenging, because since the beginning, the organizers of the event were super proactive and attentive with the participants. In addition, the platform is amazing and gives us the courage to participate. We didn't know that the astronauts' food transit, on a mission, is still a deficiency for the space system, so we learned very interesting things and came up with a lot of ideas on how to solve the problem. Our team chose the "Have Seeds Will Travel" challenge, as most participants of the group study something related to the area, the enchantment for the challenge was accurate. In addition, our approach to developing the project was precisely thinking about creating a product to give a new perspective on how space agencies can actually think and solve the problem. The team is very united with a great relationship and communication, so we use a lot of organization and task management to deal with setbacks and challenges. We thank Carine Elpídio, organizer of the event of Brasília-DF, who keeped the ball rolling and held a wonderful event.
References
Terra.com
g1.globo.com
hypeness.com
canaltech.com
ciclovivo.com.br
Socientifica.com
Olhar digital.com
grupocultivar.com.br
portalbiossistemas.com
revistagloborural.globo.com
All this data was used to create our inovation during all the process.
Tags
#travelingseeds #spacecultivation #aeroponicnutrition #foodscience
Global Judging
This project has been submitted for consideration during the Judging process.