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Early Prototype Development of the Passive Orbital Nutrient Delivery System (PONDS)Long-duration space missions will eventually require a fresh food supply to supplement crew diets, which means growing crops in space. The Passive Orbital Nutrient Delivery System (PONDS) is a new plant growth approach that contains both an area for a contained substrate and a reservoir for water and/or plant nutrient solutions. Ground studies have shown that the system facilitates both reliable water delivery to seeds for germination (e.g., while avoiding overwatering), and transport of water from the reservoir for improved plant growth while providing nutrients and oxygen to the root zone. In ground prototypes a capillary mat wicking material passively links the water/nutrient solution reservoir to a removable rooting module containing a substrate adapted to support plant growth. Oxygen permeable membranes are incorporated into both the reservoir walls and the rooting modules, bringing in oxygen from outside of the system into the reservoir and then into the rooting modules where the plant roots proliferate. Water is delivered from the reservoir to the substrate contained within the rooting module through the use of wicking material inserted into the plant growth substrate both from the bottom and from the sides of the rooting module. The capillary mat material is intrinsically hydrophilic and continuously wicks water to the substrate throughout the plant growth interval. The system is therefore self-watering in terms of supplying water to the root zone encompassed within the rooting module on demand. At the top, a hydrophilic phenolic foam plug surrounds the wick in the seed insertion zone, and both contains the substrate within the rooting module, and facilitates removal of excess moisture from the capillary mat wick before it can encompass seeds prior to germination. This work is supported by NASA’s Space Life and Physical Sciences and Research Applications Division (SLPSRAD).
Document ID
20190033278
Acquisition Source
Kennedy Space Center
Document Type
Abstract
Authors
Levine, Howard G. (NASA Kennedy Space Center Cocoa Beach, FL, United States)
Richards, Jeffrey T. (AECOM Los Angeles, CA, United States)
Koss, Lawrence L. (AECOM Los Angeles, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
November 29, 2019
Publication Date
November 21, 2019
Subject Category
Man/System Technology And Life Support
Report/Patent Number
KSC-E-DAA-TN69736
Meeting Information
Meeting: American Society for Gravitational and Space Research (ASGSR) Meeting
Location: Denver, CO
Country: United States
Start Date: November 20, 2019
End Date: November 23, 2019
Sponsors: American Society for Gravitational and Space Research (ASGSR)
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.

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