Scenario and verification of a space plant cultivation facility
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(1.National Key Laboratory of Human Factors Engineering (China Astronaut Research and Training Center), Beijing 100094, China;2.China Astronaut Research and Training Center, Beijing 100094, China)

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V419

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    Abstract:

    To satisfy the needs of plant cultivation in space, the scenario of a space plant cultivation facility(SPCF) was conducted, based on the limited resources and microgravity in space environments. The study contents included water and nutrient control around roots, atmospheric environment control in cultivation room, and light environment control, etc. The facility was designed with six functional modules, consisting of water and nutrient supply module, atmospheric environmental control module, light module, measurement and control module, cultivation room module, and root tray module. The integration and testing of the facility were carried out and the rationality of the design of each functional module was verified. Finally, the combination testing platform was used to verify the integrated performances of various functional modules of the facility, evaluate plant functions (biological characteristics, material and energy exchange, nutritional quality, and biosafety), and verify plants cultivation processes (process rationality, resource requirements and supply, and mutual impact with the environment). The verification results indicated that the performance of water supply, nutrient supply, atmospheric environmental control, illumination control, as well as the measurement and control is well, meeting the demands of plant growth in space. Lettuce grow vigorously with a production efficiency of 101.31 g (fresh weight)·(kWh)-1·d-1·m-2 and a light energy utilization rate of 0.31 g (dry weight)·mol-1 photons. More importantly, the lettuce is nutrient rich and safe for consumption. The scenario of facility design and cultivation procedures are reasonable and feasible with good performance and high production capacity. This study establishes technical foundations for the future development of plant cultivation facility targeting space environments.

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History
  • Received:July 18,2023
  • Revised:
  • Adopted:
  • Online: April 12,2024
  • Published:
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