Location
Radisson Resort at the Port, Jamaica Room
Start Date
3-5-2000 2:00 PM
Description
NASA seeks to utilize plants to recycle air, water, wastes, provide food and contribute to the psychological well being of the crew during prolonged space flight missions. We believe that the provision of adequate levels of water (without causing water logging) and oxygen to the root zone are the most crucial components holding back major advancements in this area. As part of the Microgravity Plant Nutrient Experiment (MPNE-02) space flight investigation, the plant growth hardware will be launched in an unpowered, dry condition and initiated by the crew on-orbit. We report here on preliminary efforts at developing a strategy for the initial wetting of the root zone substrate based upon the use of moisture sensor-provided feedback control to the water input control mechanism. The ability to initially wet, in a uniform fashion, the plant culture root zone substrate under microgravity conditions will be a critical operational requirement for all long-duration plant growth efforts in space.
Paper Session II-B - A Strategy for the Initial Wetting of a Plant Cultivation Unit in Space
Radisson Resort at the Port, Jamaica Room
NASA seeks to utilize plants to recycle air, water, wastes, provide food and contribute to the psychological well being of the crew during prolonged space flight missions. We believe that the provision of adequate levels of water (without causing water logging) and oxygen to the root zone are the most crucial components holding back major advancements in this area. As part of the Microgravity Plant Nutrient Experiment (MPNE-02) space flight investigation, the plant growth hardware will be launched in an unpowered, dry condition and initiated by the crew on-orbit. We report here on preliminary efforts at developing a strategy for the initial wetting of the root zone substrate based upon the use of moisture sensor-provided feedback control to the water input control mechanism. The ability to initially wet, in a uniform fashion, the plant culture root zone substrate under microgravity conditions will be a critical operational requirement for all long-duration plant growth efforts in space.
