Multispectral Plant Health Imaging System for Space Biology and Hypobaric Plant Growth Studies

Ensuring high plant yields is critical for the application of higher plants to space- based biological life support systems. An imager capable of monitoring several fluorescent biological markers in real-time would provide a robust health monitoring system and allow growers to minimize environmental stressors. This article reports the results of the design and development of a multispectral plant health imager prototype, employed in a low- pressure plant growth chamber as a test of its functionality in spaceflight systems. Images were collected every four hours with a monochromatic camera and a commercial liquid crystal tunable filter. This arrangement permitted the monitoring of emission from introduced green fluorescent proteins as well as chlorophyll fluorescence. Data were saved locally and accessed in real-time from the exterior of the chamber.