The project will study the best light recipes for duration, intensity and spectral quality, optimized to achieve the different phases of plant growth.
The demonstrator will be equipped with non-destructive analysis systems to monitor the growth and health of plants, in real time, even remotely, automating the data collection and analysis process.
With a view to using this demonstrator to support research for future manned space missions, this system will make it possible to carefully evaluate the resources needed to produce adequate quantities of fresh food, reducing the astronaut’s operating times.
On the other hand, this same system can be used for studies on the response of plants to growth and development in conditions of experimental launches on platforms such as mini and / or micro satellites, or on the International Space Station.
G & A Engineering S.r.L boasts a consolidated experience in the engineering design and production of special equipment systems in the aerospace and defense sector, as well as hydroponic cultivation techniques in a controlled environment.
The multi-year collaboration of G & A Engineering S.r.L with the ENEA Biotechnology Laboratory, which deals with high-tech cultivation and the response of plants to extreme conditions, represents a guarantee for obtaining scientifically valid results with concrete application perspectives.
The design team also makes use of the fundamental support of ASI for the definition of high-level requirements for the design and construction of a demonstrator for the cultivation of plants in hydroponic conditions, also aimed at a hypothetical use in a space environment.
Not negligible is the consideration that, in addition to the objectives related to space, the results envisaged by the project will be of certain value also for terrestrial applications. In fact, the need to identify alternatives to traditional cultivation techniques, which can move plant production even in extreme environments, such as arid, contaminated or climatically adverse areas, and in urban areas, is increasingly pressing, in order to support the growing requests for fresh and qualitatively guaranteed food.
(Grant € 360,626 – Expense € 540,186.91).
