NASA air purification technology, originally designed for plant-growing experiments on the space station, has been licensed and turned into a consumer device that keeps household air cleaner and healthier. Credits: Akida Holdings Inc.
The red romaine lettuce is far from the first crop grown on a space station. For decades, NASA etc have experimented with plants in space, but the results were always sent to Earth for examination, rather than eaten. A number of technologies NASA has explored have found their way onto the market.
Orbital Technologies (ORBITEC) partnered with Kennedy Space Center to develop the plant growth system: Veggie, that produced this most recent crop of lettuce, as well as its predecessor, Biomass Production System. Many features of the high-efficiency lighting system the company developed with Kennedy funding have been incorporated into ORBITEC’s commercial offerings. Not only does its greenhouse lighting technology take advantage of the efficiency of LEDs, which waste almost no energy on heat, but its variable light output allows it to be adapted to specific plant species at specific growth stages. It can also sense the presence of plant tissue and only power nearby LEDs. Overall, it uses about 60% less energy than traditional plant lighting systems.
Orbital Technologies partnered with Kennedy Space Center to create a plant growth system known as Veggie, now used on the International Space Station. The system employs LEDs, which are highly efficient and long-lasting and radiate hardly any heat. Credits: Orbital Technologies/NASA
Meanwhile National Space Biomedical Research Program (NSBRI), took notice that lamps could produce specific wavelengths of light. The team that was growing plants at Kennedy built LED prototypes for an NSBRI team that used it for a research project, discovering that different wavelengths of light helped test subjects stay awake or fall asleep. Lighting Science then developed a line of DefinityDigital light bulbs for home use. Different bulbs can suppress or increase melatonin production in the brain to induce wakefulness or sleepiness, respectively. Another is used to grow plants, and a 4th bulb is designed for outdoor lighting in coastal areas, where it won’t disorient sea turtles, as normal outdoor lighting tends to.
A problem faced by greenhouses both in space and on Earth is ethylene, that hastens the ripening of fruits and vegetables = faster decay. Researchers at the Wisconsin Center for Space Automation and Robotics, figured out how to deal with this problem in the 1990s, ultimately leading to a highly successful line of products. The ethylene-scrubbing technology they devised first flew in 1995 on the space shuttle >> later became AiroCide product line >> destroyed not only ethylene and other volatile organic compounds but also airborne bacteria, mold, fungi, mycotoxins, viruses, and odors. AiroCide scrubbers are now widely used for food preservation in supermarkets, produce distribution facilities, food processing plants, wineries, distilleries, restaurants, and large floral shops, refrigerators, developing world such as India and the Persian Gulf area, where food storage and distribution is often complicated by harsh conditions and underdeveloped infrastructure.
AiroCide units are also commonly used to clean the air and prevent the spread of disease in hospitals, doctors’ offices, laboratories, schools, hospitals, and daycare centers. By 2013, a home version became available and immediately caught on. http://www.nasa.gov/feature/space-farming-yields-a-crop-of-benefits-for-earth
A sensor that used electrical impulses to measure leaf thickness, which indicates water content eliminated guesswork from watering plants but also reduced water use by 25 – 45%. By 2012, AgriHouse offered sensors that attach to plants and transmit water-content data to a user’s computer, and the system can send text messages when certain crops need water. AgriHouse also used BioServe research to develop a method for aeroponic crop production. http://www.nasa.gov/feature/space-farming-yields-a-crop-of-benefits-for-earth
A leaf sensor developed to increase the efficiency of farming on long-duration space missions is now used by farmers to conserve on water use by only irrigating when crops need it. The sensor works by measuring leaf thickness and text messaging farmers when plants are “thirsty.” Credits: AgriHouse Brands Ltd./NASA
Recent Comments