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The first Veggie plant growth chamber was installed on the International Space Station in 2014. Crop plants can be grown in Veggie using plant pillows, small rooting packets that contain substrate, fertilizer, and germination wicks along with attached seeds. The pillows were designed to interface with the Veggie root mat reservoir watering system to provide a capillary water column to growing plants. In preparation for flight, methods of arcillite substrate washing, autoclaving, and drying were established to reduce dust and to provide a dry sterile substrate. A controlled released fertilizer mixed into arcillite substrate provides nutrition for plant growth. Methods of seed surface sterilization were tested for both germination and microbial contamination, and the optimum methods were determined for candidate flight crops. Plant pillows were prepared for flight by cutting and inserting germination wicks, filling with the substrate/fertilizer mix, and sewing closed. Following pillow filling, seeds were attached to the wicks, and the pillows were packaged for flight. Pillow preparation methods have been successfully tested in the VEG-01 hardware validation tests on the International Space Station with ‘Outredgeous’ lettuce and ‘Profusion’ zinnia, and in the VEG-03 test, using ‘Outredgeous’ lettuce and ‘Tokyo bekana’ Chinese cabbage.

Light emitting diode (LED) lighting technology for crop production is advancing at a rapid pace, both in terms of the technology itself (e.g., spectral composition and efficiency), and the research that the technological advances have enabled. The application of LED technology for crop production was first explored as a tool for improving the safety and reliability of plant-based bioregenerative life-support systems for long duration human space exploration. Developing and optimizing the lighting environment (spectral quality and quantity) for bioregenerative life-support applications and other controlled environment plant production applications, such as microgreens and sprout production, continues to be an active area of research and LED technology development. This study examines the influence of monochromatic and dichromatic red and blue light on the early development of six food crop species; Cucumis sativa, Solanum lycopersicum, Glycine max, Raphanus sativus, Pisum sativum, and Capsicum annum. Results support previous findings that light responses are often species specific. The results also support the assertion that monochromatic light can interfere with the normal interaction of various photoreceptors (co-action disruption) resulting in intermediate and sometimes unpredictable responses to a given light environment. The nature of the responses reported inform both bioregenerative life-support designs as well as light quality selection for the production of controlled environment crops.

Strawberry ( Fragaria x ananassa L.) is a promising candidate crop for space life-support systems with desirable sensory quality and health attributes. Day-neutral cultivars such as ‘Seascape’ are adaptable to a range of photoperiods, including short days that would save considerable energy for crop lighting without reductions in productivity or yield. Since photoperiod and temperature interact to affect strawberry growth and development, several diurnal temperature regimes were tested under a short photoperiod of 10 h per day for effects on yield and quality attributes of ‘Seascape’ strawberry during production cycles longer than 270 days. The coolest day/night temperature regime, 16°/8 °C, tended to produce smaller numbers of larger fruit than did the intermediate temperature range of 18°/10 °C or the warmest regime, 20°/12 °C, both of which produced similar larger numbers of smaller fruit. The intermediate temperature regime produced the highest total fresh mass of berries over an entire production cycle. Independent experiments examined either organoleptic or physicochemical quality attributes. Organoleptic evaluation indicated that fruit grown under the coolest temperature regime tended to score the highest for both hedonic preference and descriptive evaluation of sensory attributes related to sweetness, texture, aftertaste, and overall approval. The physicochemical quality attributes Brix, pH, and sugar/acid ratio were highest for fruits harvested from the coolest temperature regime and lower for those from the warmer temperature regimes. The cool-regime fruits also were lowest in titratable acidity. The yield parameters fruit number and size oscillated over the course of a production cycle, with a gradual decline in fruit size under all three temperature regimes. Brix and titratable acidity both decreased over time for all three temperature treatments, but sugar/acid ratio remained highest for the cool temperature regime over the entire production period. Periodic rejuvenation or replacement of strawberry propagules may be needed to maintain both quality and quantity of strawberry yield in space.

The Vegetable Production System (Veggie) is a scientific payload designed to support plant growth for food production under microgravity conditions. The configuration of Veggie consists of an LED lighting system with modular rooting pillows designed to contain substrate media and time-release fertilizer. The pillows were designed to be watered passively using capillary principles but have typically been watered manually by the astronauts in low-Earth orbit (LEO). The design of Veggie allows cabin air to be drawn through the plant enclosure for thermal and humidity control and for supplying CO2 to the plants. Since its delivery to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2014, Veggie has undergone several experimental trials by various crews. Ground unit testing of Veggie was conducted during an 8-month Mars analog study in a semi-contained environment of a simulated habitat located at approximately 8,200 feet (2,500 m) elevation on the Mauna Loa volcano on the Island of Hawaii. The Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) offered conditions (habitat, mission, communications, etc.) intended to simulate a planetary exploration mission. This paper provides data and analyses to show the prospect for optimized use of the current Veggie design for human habitats. Lessons learned during the study may provide opportunities for updating the system design and operational parameters for current Veggie experiments being conducted onboard the ISS and for payloads on future deep space missions.

A semi-dwarf breeding line of maize ( Zea mays L., PI 587154) was grown from seed to seed in a growth chamber either at 26.7 °C days/18.3 °C nights (control treatment) or at 15.6 °C for the first 2 h of each photoperiod before being returned to standard control temperature for the rest of the photoperiod (DIP treatment). Half of the plants in each 120-day production experiment were grown in 3-L containers and half in 9-L containers, both groupings at equivalent plant-to-plant spacing. Stalks of DIP-treated plants elongated 9–10% less than controls during seed-production cycles in both pot sizes. DIP reduced vegetative dry biomass of stalks 29% relative to controls when using small pots, and 19% for plants grown in medium pots. Root dry weight was reduced 22–25% by DIP in the two container sizes, but stalk/root ratios were not altered significantly by DIP treatment or pot size. Stalk diameter also was reduced 8–9% by DIP for both pot sizes. Neither seed number nor seed weight were affected significantly by temperature treatment or pot size. DIP slowed and prolonged stalk elongation but not differentiation of nodes for both pot sizes. Timing of tassel development and pollen shed were unaffected by temperature or pot size, but timing of silk development was delayed by DIP, slightly more for plants growing in small than in medium pots. Nevertheless, primary ears developed to complete seed fill, suggesting adequate time-window overlap between pollen shed and silk receptivity for effective pollination and fertilization to occur. Controlled-environment production of maize in restricted-height growth facilities or where adequate separation distance is required between the tops of crop stands and overhead high-intensity discharge light sources may be accommodated economically by use of DIP temperature treatments without compromising grain yield. Use of medium-volume containers stabilizes the mature maize stalks bearing grain-filled ears.

Sweetpotato (Ipomea batatas L.) ‘Whatley–Loretan’ was developed for space life support by researchers at Tuskegee University for its highly productive, nutritious storage roots. This promising candidate space life-support crop has a sprawling habit and aggressive growth rate in favorable environments that demands substantial growing area. Shoot pruning is not a viable option for vine control because removal of the main shoot apex drastically inhibits storage-root initiation and development, and chemical growth retardants typically are not cleared for use with food crops. As part of a large effort by the NASA Specialized Center of Research and Training in Advanced Life Support to reduce equivalent system mass (ESM) for food production in space, the dilemma of vine management for sweetpotato was addressed in effort to conserve growth area without compromising root yield. Root yields from unbranched vines trained spirally around wire frames configured either in the shapes of cones or cylinders were similar to those from vines trained horizontally along the bench, but occupying only a small fraction of the bench area. This finding indicates that sweetpotato is highly adaptable to a variety of vine-training architectures. Planting a second plant in the growth container and training the two vines in opposite directions around frames enhanced root yield and number, but had little effect on average length of each vine or bench area occupied. Once again, root yields were similar for both configurations of wire support frames. The 3–4-month crop-production cycles for sweetpotato in the greenhouse spanned all seasons of multiple years during the course of the study, and although electric lighting was used for photoperiod control and to supplement photosynthetic light during low-light seasons, there still were differences in total light available across seasons. Light variations and other environmental differences among experiments in the greenhouse had more effects on vine length than on root yield. Average vine length correlated positively with total hours of daylight received across seasons, and responses for one plant per container were higher above a threshold duration of solar exposure, suggesting that the vines of two plants per container compete for available light. In addition to the adaptability of sweetpotato to various vine-training architectures and across seasons in terms of maintaining root productivity, the open, interior volumes of the support frames tested in this study will provide future opportunity to enhance sweetpotato root yield in space by adding novel interior lighting, such as from intracanopy arrays of light-emitting diodes. This work was sponsored by NASA grant NAG 5 1286.

A variety of crops and their production systems have been proposed as platforms for plant-made pharmaceuticals (PMPs) and plant-made industrial compounds (PMICs), each with their own advantages and challenges. Maize grown in isolated, confined environments avoids several challenging issues associated with future production of PMPs/PMICs. When grown under optimizing conditions of temperature, nutrition, and water status, however, maize tends to elongate excessively, which contributes to lodging and interferes with delivery of sufficient overhead electric lighting to the inner foliar canopy where ears develop. Suppression of extensive stem elongation without compromising grain yield would help in delivering overhead light into the foliar canopy for efficient grain production. The plant-growth retardant uniconazole (UCZ) was tested for its effects on maize height and grain yield. UCZ reduced plant height effectively, but dosages that strongly suppressed stem elongation also decreased grain yield, ear length, and cob weight. Duration of growth suppression was prolonged at high UCZ concentrations. UCZ also induced branching of maize, which was enhanced as concentrations increased. A range of ear types occurred on branches, with some conversion of ears to tassels at high UCZ concentrations. Minimum stem diameter declined with increasing UCZ concentration. Plant height was reduced from 306 cm to 232 cm (−25%) using a concentration of 1.0 mg/L UCZ without affecting grain yield of 180–200 g per plant. This low UCZ concentration caused 1–2 basal branches to form that would not affect planting density in a cropping situation.

Systems for the growth of crops in closed environments are being developed and tested for potential use in space applications to provide a source of fresh food. Plant growth conditions, growth media composition and harvest methods can have an effect on the microbial population of the plant, and therefore should be considered along with the optimization of plant growth and harvest yields to ensure a safe and palatable food crop. This work examines the effect of plant cultivar, growth media, and harvest method on plant microbial populations. Twelve varieties of leafy greens and herbs were grown on a mixture of Fafard #2 and Arcillite in the pillow root containment system currently being considered for the VEGGIE plant growth unit developed by Orbitec. In addition, ,Sierra and Outredgeous lettuce varieties were grown in three different mixtures (Fafard #2, Ardllite, and Perlite/Vermiculite). The plants were analyzed for microbial density. Two harvest methods, "cut and come again" (CACA) and terminal harvest were also compared. In one set ofexpe'riments red leaf lettuce and mizuna were grown in pots in a Biomass Production System for education. Plants were harvested every two weeks by either method. Another set of experiments was performed using the rooting pillows to grow 5 varieties of leafy greens and cut harvesting at different intervals. Radishes were harvested and replanted at two-week intervals. Results indicate up to a 3 IOglO difference in microbial counts between some varieties of plants. Rooting medium resulted in an approximately 2 IOglO lower count in the lettuce grown in arscillite then those grown in the other mixtures. Harvest method and frequency had less impact on microbial counts only showing a significant increase in one variety of plant. Post harvest methods to decrease the bacterial counts on edible crops were investigated in these and other experiments. The effectiveness of PRO-SAN and UV-C radiation is compared.

Significant advances in controlled-environment (CE) plant production lighting have been made in recent years, driven by rapid improvements in light-emitting diode (LED) technologies. Aside from energy efficiency gains, LEDs offer the ability to customize the spectrum delivered to a crop, which may have untold benefits for growers and researchers alike. Understanding how these specific wavebands are attenuated by plant tissue is important if lighting engineers are to fully optimize systems for CE plant production. In this study, seven different greenhouse and field crops (radish, Raphanus sativus ‘Cherry Bomb II’; red romaine lettuce, Lactuca sativa ‘Outredgeous’, green leaf lettuce, Lactuca sativa ‘Waldmann’s Green’; pepper, Capsicum annuum ‘Fruit Basket’; soybean, Glycine max ’Hoyt’; cucumber, Cucumis sativus ‘Spacemaster’; canola, Brassica napus ‘Westar’) were grown in CE chambers under two different light intensities (225 and 420 μmol·m−2·s−1). Intact, fully expanded upper canopy leaves were used to determine the level of light transmission, at two to three different plant ages, across seven different wavebands with peaks at 400, 450, 530, 595, 630, 655, and 735 nm. The photosynthetic photon flux (PPF) environment that plants were grown in affected light transmission across the different LED wavelengths in a crop-dependent manner. Plant age had no effect on light transmission at the time intervals examined. Specific waveband transmission from the seven LED sources varied similarly across plant types with low transmission of blue and red wavelengths, intermediate transmission of green and amber wavelengths, and the highest transmission at the far-red wavelengths. Higher native PPF increased anthocyanin levels in red romaine lettuce compared with the lower native PPF treatment. Understanding the differences in light transmission will inform the development of novel, energy-saving lighting architectures for CE plant growth.