Space farming: Horticulture systems on spacecraft and outlook to planetary space exploration

Nguyen, Mai Trinh Phuong; Knowling, Matthew; Tran, Nam N.; Burgess, Alexandra; Fisk, Ian; Watt, Michelle; Escribà-Gelonch, Marc; This, Herve; Culton, John; Hessel, Volker

Abstract

Successful human space exploration requires more products than can be taken as payload. There is a need, therefore, for in-space circular manufacturing. Requirements for this include limited resource inflow, from either Earth or other planets and the generation of minimal waste. The provision of nutritious food is a clear need for human survival on the Moon or Mars and is one of the most complex to solve. Demand in large quantities, constant and reliable provision of food requires the development of specialist agricultural technologies. Here, we first review the history of space farming over the past five decades. This survey assesses the technologies which have been tested under the harsh conditions of space, identifying which modern horticultural components are applicable for in-space plant growth. We then outline which plants have been grown and under what conditions, and speculate upon the types of plants that could be selected to best nourish astronauts. Current systems are focussed on experimentation and exploration, but do not yet provide turn-key solutions for efficient food production within a long-term space exploration scenario. With that take, this review aims to provide a perspective on how an engineered closed circular environmental life-support system (ECCLES) might be constructed. To exemplify the latter, nutrient auto accumulation by biofortification is proposed through the integration of space farming and space mining, which is uncharted on Earth.

Citation

Nguyen, M. T. P., Knowling, M., Tran, N. N., Burgess, A., Fisk, I., Watt, M., Escribà-Gelonch, M., This, H., Culton, J., & Hessel, V. (2023). Space farming: Horticulture systems on spacecraft and outlook to planetary space exploration. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, 194, 708-721. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plaphy.2022.12.017

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 18, 2022
• Online Publication Date: Dec 23, 2022
• Publication Date: 2023-01
• Deposit Date: Aug 24, 2023
• Journal: Plant Physiology and Biochemistry
• Print ISSN: 0981-9428
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 194
• Pages: 708-721
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plaphy.2022.12.017
• Keywords: Plant Science; Genetics; Physiology
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/15170007
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0981942822005605?via%3Dihub
• Additional Information: This article is maintained by: Elsevier; Article Title: Space farming: Horticulture systems on spacecraft and outlook to planetary space exploration; Journal Title: Plant Physiology and Biochemistry; CrossRef DOI link to publisher maintained version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plaphy.2022.12.017; Content Type: article; Copyright: © 2022 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.