What would it take to grow vegetables all year long anywhere in the world?
A small company in Madison, Wisconsin believes they may have the answer.
Orbital Technologies Corporation, better known as ORBITEC, has been working
on how to make things grow, here on Earth and in Space.
In fact, for sometime, the firm has been involved in research and development on plant growth with NASA.
Through funding from the Small Business Innovation Research, or SBIR, Program at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, ORBITEC
developed a Biomass Production System, also called a BPS.
For more than 75 days, the BPS system flew onboard the Space Station and allowed NASA to test how plants grew in space.
Researchers were able to begin from seed, grow, and harvest multiple species the BPS' growth chambers.
The system proved that a controlled environment could support plant and even control growth in
microgravity-something that will be critical for long-duration human space travel.
"We can use plants to regain the CO2 that the crew gives off, take the gray water that the crew considers waste,
and convert that into drinking water, at the same time, providing food."
he success of the BPS led to one of the largest NASA SBIR Phase 3 awards ever-a contract from Ames Research Center
to develop Plant Research Units, or PRUs. ORBITEC improved on the success of the original Biomass systems by adding soil
moisture sensors, new humidity control technology, improved cameras, and advanced spectral lighting in the chambers for the PRUs.
With NASA's new push for space exploration, the PRUs will play an important role as
scientists continue to research plant growth in a space environment.
To help others understand the BPS technology, ORBITEC worked again with Kennedy Space Center
to develop systems for educational activities--taking the technology out of the lab, out of orbit, and into the classroom.
One of ORBITEC'S strengths is its concept-to-product process.
"Typically, we do build most of the componentry--electronics, mechanics,
and software that goes into the componentry that goes into the systems.
That's largely because we're pushing all of the needs that NASA has in low mass, low volume, low-power utilization."
Crabb also feels that their success with Phase 3 awards has a lot to do with what they
achieve in Phase 2, thereby gaining NASA's confidence in their work.
ORBITEC is also applying the controlled environment technology in another area.
Since controlled environments recycle resources and are not weather dependent, they can have a tremendous impact on global farming.
ORBITEC is partnering with NASA to get some earlier SBIR research ready for prime time applications,
ranging from plant growth to nanocoatings to manufacturing on other planets.
A unique lunar surface concept is now bearing fruit as a concept for converting planetary soil into usable propulsion products.
"The furnace led to additional advancement technologies to laser treatment of the simulant soils, so it's now
very, very relevant in what NASA's looking at for system studies and the use of in-situ resources on the Moon and Mars."
ORBITEC will continue to partner with NASA on concepts for space exploration, and perhaps one day,
because of their work, fresh tomatoes will grow in Wisconsin all year long!