ALBERT

Description: Anionic (sodium laureth sulfate, SLES), amphoteric (cocamidopropyl betaine, CAPB) and nonionic (alcohol polyethoxylate, AE) surfactants were added to separate nutrient film technique (NFT) hydroponic systems containing dwarf wheat (Triticum aestivum cv. USU Apogee) in a series of 21 day trials. Surfactant was added either in a (1). temporally dynamic mode (1-3 g surfactant m(-2) growing area d(-1)) as effected by automatic addition of a 300 ppm surfactant solution to meet plant water demand, or (2). continuous mode (2 g surfactant m(-2) growing area d(-1)) as effected by slow addition (10 mLh(-1)) of a 2000 ppm surfactant solution beginning at 4d after planting. SLES showed rapid primary degradation in both experiments, with no accumulation 24 h after initial addition. CAPB and AE were degraded less rapidly, with 30-50% remaining 24 h after initial addition, but CAPB and AE levels were below detection limit for the remainder of the study. No reductions in vegetative growth of wheat were observed in response to SLES, but biomass was reduced 20-25% with CAPB and AE. Microbial communities associated with both the plant roots and wetted hardware surfaces actively degraded the surfactants, as determined by monitoring surfactant levels following pulse additions at day 20 (with plants) and day 21 (after plant removal). In order to test whether the biofilm communities could ameliorate phytotoxicity by providing a microbial community acclimated for CAPB and AE decay, the continuous exposure systems were planted with wheat seeds after crop removal at day 21. Acclimation resulted in faster primary degradation (〉90% within 24h) and reduced phytotoxicity. Overall, the studies indicate that relatively small areas (3-5m(2)) of hydroponic plant systems can process per capita production of mixed surfactants (5-10 g x person(-1)d(-1)) with minimal effects on plant growth.

Description: Solid-waste treatment in space for Advanced Life Support, ALS, applications requires that the material can be safely processed and stored in a confined environment. Many solid-wastes are not stable because they are wet (40-90% moisture) and contain levels of soluble organic compounds that can contribute to the growth of undesirable microorganisms with concomitant production of noxious odors. In the absence of integrated Advanced Life Support systems on orbit, permanent gas, trace volatile organic and microbiological analyses were performed on crew refuse returned from the volume F "wet" trash of three consecutive Shuttle missions (STS-105, 109, and 110). These analyses were designed to characterize the short-term biological stability of the material and assess potential crew risks resulting from microbial decay processes during storage. Waste samples were collected post-orbiter landing and sorted into packaging material, food waste, toilet waste, and bulk liquid fractions deposited during flight in the volume F container. Aerobic and anaerobic microbial loads were determined in each fraction by cultivation on R2A and by acridine orange direct count (AODC). Dry and ash weights were performed to determine both water and organic content of the materials. Experiments to determine the aerobic and anaerobic biostability of refuse stored for varying periods of time were performed by on-line monitoring of CO2 and laboratory analysis for production of hydrogen sulfide and methane. Volatile organic compounds and permanent gases were analyzed using EPA Method TO15 by USEPA et al. [EPA Method TO15, The Determination of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in Ambient Air using SUMMA, Passivated Canister Sampling and Gas Chromatographic Analysis,1999] with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and by gas chromatography with selective detectors. These baseline measures of waste stream content, labile organics, and microbial load in the volume F Shuttle trash provide data for waste subsystem analysis and atmospheric management within the ALS Project. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of COSPAR.

Description: Several dwarf tomato and pepper varieties were evaluated under International Space Station (ISS)-simulated growth conditions (22 degrees Centigrade, 50 percent relative humidity, 1500 parts per million CO2, and 300 micromoles per square meter per second of light for 16 hours per day) with the goal of selecting those with the best growth, nutrition, and organoleptic potential for use in a pick and eat salad crop system on ISS and future exploration flights. Testing included six cultivars of tomato (Red Robin, Scarlet Sweet 'N' Neat, Tiny Tim, Mohamed, Patio Princess, and Tumbler) and six cultivars of pepper (Red Skin, Fruit Basket, Cajun Belle, Chablis, Sweet Pickle, and Pompeii). Plants were grown to an age sufficient to produce fruit (up to 106 days for tomato and 109 days for pepper) using Turface (arcillite) potting media with 18-6-8 control-release fertilizer and supplemental nutrient solution beginning around 60-days-age. Tomato fruits were harvested when they showed full red color, beginning around 70-days age and then at weekly intervals thereafter, while peppers were grown until fruits showed color and were harvested twice (first test) and just once at the end of the second test, with the final harvests including colored and green fruit. Plant sizes, yields, and nutritional attributes were measured and used to down-select to three cultivars for each species. In particular, we were interested in cultivars that were short (dwarf) but still produced high yields. Nutritional data included elemental (Ca, Mg, Fe, and K) content, vitamin K, phenolics, lycopene (for tomato), anthocyanin, lutein, and zeaxanthin. The three down-selected cultivars for each species were grown again and the harvested fruit sent to NASA's Johnson Space Center for sensory evaluation, which included overall acceptability, appearance, color intensity, aroma, flavor and texture. The combined data were compared and given weighting factors to rank the cultivars as candidates for testing in space. Weightings gave maximum importance to plant size (smaller being good) and fruit yield (greater yields being good). For tomato, the ranking was 1) cultivar Mohamed and cultivar Red Robin (tied), and 3) cultivar Sweet N' Neat. For pepper, the ranking was 1) cultivar Pompeii, 2) cultivar Red Skin, and 3) cultivar Fruit Basket. These rankings are somewhat subjective but provide a starting point for conducting higher fidelity testing with these crops (e.g., testing with light emitting diode lighting similar to the Veggie plant unit on ISS), and ultimately conducting a flight experiment.

Description: Growth of fresh, nutritious, palatable produce for crew consumption during spaceflight may provide health-promoting, bioavailable nutrients and enhance the dietary experience as we move toward longer-duration missions. Tending plants also may serve as a countermeasure for crew psychological stresses associated with long duration spaceflight. However, requirements to support consistent growth of a variety of high quality, nutritious crops under spaceflight environmental conditions is unknown. This study is exploring the potential to grow plants for food production on the International Space Station (ISS) using the Veggie vegetable production system. Ground testing is underway to compare the impacts of several fertilizer and lighting treatments on growth, quality, and nutritional composition of the leafy green crop mizuna, and the dwarf tomato crop "Red Robin" when subjected to Veggie ISS environmental conditions. Early testing focused on the leafy crop "Tokyo Bekana" Chinese cabbage, but ground tests indicated that this plant suffered from stress responses when grown under LEDs and the chronically elevated CO2 levels found on the ISS. Mizuna, a related leafy variety that grows well in the presence of high CO2, and has excellent organoleptic characteristics, was selected as an alternate crop. Tomato crops have been grown using two fertilizer formulations and two pollination techniques, and growth tests using different red:blue lighting environments are underway. Chemical analysis is also being conducted and these data, when coupled with the growth results, will be used to down-select to the two best lighting treatments and best fertilizer treatment for future testing of each crop on the ISS. Additionally, seed-source testing has become important, with mizuna seeds from two different vendors growing very differently. A seed source has been selected, and seed-surface-sanitizing methods have been confirmed for mizuna, but these remain under development for tomato. A crop-handling protocol is also being evaluated to support food safety. All harvests reserve a subset of samples for microbial analysis to determine baseline microbial levels and help establish critical control points for food safety. Testing was initially conducted in hardware analogs of the standard Veggie plant pillows. However, a new Veggie watering system, the Passive Orbital Nutrient Delivery System or PONDS, has been designed and is being prepared for future flight experiments. With the selection of this growth system, ground tests have shifted to analog PONDS systems. Crop tests on ISS, designated VEG-04 for mizuna and VEG-05 for tomato, are planned in 2018 to evaluate any additional impacts of spaceflight on the light and fertilizer conditions down-selected from ground tests. A set of Veggie-specific questions has been developed to characterize the psychological impacts of plant growth and plant-care activities during spaceflight. Organoleptic questionnaires have been developed to assess produce attributes in microgravity taste sessions. These tests for plants growing in the Veggie hardware on ISS will help to mitigate the risk of an inadequate food supply for long duration missions by developing methods and determining hardware requirements to integrate fresh vegetables as a dietary supplement. This research was co-funded by the Human Research Program and Space Biology (MTL#1075) in the ILSRA 2015 NRA call.

Description: Currently no standards or requirements exist for microbial food safety for space grown produce (fresh plant foods). Without standards it is difficult to assess produce handling and sanitization options for the ISS and future exploration missions. We are conducting a literature review of microbial levels on fresh food and then carrying out measurements (microbial counts) of grocery store purchased and controlled environment-grown crops. Testing will include lettuce, mizuna, cherry tomato, pepper, and radish, all candidate crops for pick-and-eat testing on ISS and near term exploration missions. Growth chamber conditions will be set to mimic an ISS or spacecraft environment. Assays will include specific pathogens (Enterobacteriacea, Salmonella sp., and Aspergillus flavus) and total culturable microorganisms using aerobic plate counts, and total yeast and mold counts. Analyses will follow the FDA Bacteriological Analytical Manual methods. The goal of the project is to establish a baseline for expected microbial levels found on fresh plant foods that might be grown on ISS and near term missions, and develop risk assessment and microbial safety recommendations for these types of fresh foods.

Description: Crops for space life support systems and in particular, early supplemental food production systems must be able to fit into the confined volume of space craft or space habitats. For example, spaceflight plant chambers such as Svet, Lada, Astroculture, BPS, and Veggie provided approximately 15-40 cm of growing height for plant shoots. Six cultivars each of tomato and pepper were selected for initial study based on their advertised dwarf growth and high yields. Plants were grown in 10-cm pots with solid potting medium and controlled-release fertilizer to simulate the rooting constraints that might be faced in space environments. Lighting was provided by fluorescent lamps (~300 umol m(exp -1) s(exp -1) and a 16 h light / 8 h dark photoperiod. Cultivars were then down selected to three each for pepper (cvs. Red Skin, Pompeii, and Fruit Basket) and tomato (cvs. Red Robin, Mohamed, and Sweet n' Neat). In all cases (pepper and tomato), the plants grew to an approximate height of 20 cm and produced between 200 and 300 g fruit fresh mass per plant. In previous hydroponic studies with unrestricted root growth, Fruit Basket pepper and Red Robin tomato produced much larger plants with taller shoots. The findings suggest that high value, nutritious crops like tomato and pepper could be grown within small volumes of space habitats, but horticultural issues, such as rooting volume could be important in controlling plant size.

Description: Growth of fresh, nutritious, palatable produce for crew consumption during spaceflight may provide health-promoting, bioavailable nutrients and enhance the dietary experience as we move toward longer-duration missions. Tending plants also may serve as a countermeasure for crew psychological stresses associated with long duration spaceflight. However, requirements to support consistent growth of a variety of high quality, nutritious crops under spaceflight environmental conditions is unknown. This study is exploring the potential to grow plants for food production on the International Space Station (ISS) using the Veggie vegetable production system. Ground testing is underway to compare the impacts of several fertilizer and lighting treatments on growth, quality, and nutritional composition of the leafy green crop mizuna, and the dwarf tomato crop Red Robin when subjected to Veggie ISS environmental conditions. Early testing focused on the leafy crop Tokyo Bekana Chinese cabbage, but ground tests indicated that this plant suffered from stress responses when grown under LEDs and the chronically elevated CO2 levels found on the ISS. Mizuna, a related leafy variety that grows well in the presence of high CO2, and has excellent organoleptic characteristics, was selected as an alternate crop. Tomato crops have been grown using two fertilizer formulations and two pollination techniques, and growth tests using different red:blue lighting environments are underway. Chemical analysis is also being conducted and these data, when coupled with the growth results, will be used to down-select to the two best lighting treatments and best fertilizer treatment for future testing of each crop on the ISS. Additionally, seed-source testing has become important, with mizuna seeds from two different vendors growing very differently. A seed source has been selected, and seed-surface-sanitizing methods have been confirmed for mizuna, but these remain under development for tomato. A crop-handling protocol is also being evaluated to support food safety. All harvests reserve a subset of samples for microbial analysis to determine baseline microbial levels and help establish critical control points for food safety. Testing was initially conducted in hardware analogs of the standard Veggie plant pillows. However, a new Veggie watering system, the Passive Orbital Nutrient Delivery System or PONDS, has been designed and is being prepared for future flight experiments. With the selection of this growth system, ground tests have shifted to analog PONDS systems. Crop tests on ISS, designated VEG-04 for mizuna and VEG-05 for tomato, are planned in 2018 to evaluate any additional impacts of spaceflight on the light and fertilizer conditions down-selected from ground tests. A set of Veggie-specific questions has been developed to characterize the psychological impacts of plant growth and plant-care activities during spaceflight. Organoleptic questionnaires have been developed to assess produce attributes in microgravity taste sessions. These tests for plants growing in the Veggie hardware on ISS will help to mitigate the risk of an inadequate food supply for long duration missions by developing methods and determining hardware requirements to integrate fresh vegetables as a dietary supplement. This research was co-funded by the Human Research Program and Space Biology (MTL1075) in the ILSRA 2015 NRA call.

Description: The capability to grow nutritious, palatable food for crew consumption during spaceflight has the potential to provide health-promoting, bioavailable nutrients, enhance the dietary experience, and reduce launch mass as we move toward longer-duration missions. Studies of edible produce during spaceflight have been limited, leaving a significant knowledge gap in the methods required to grow safe, acceptable, nutritious crops for consumption in space. Researchers from Kennedy Space Center, Johnson Space Center, Purdue University and ORBITEC have teamed up to explore the potential for plant growth and food production on the International Space Station (ISS) and future exploration missions. Ground testing of Chinese cabbage and dwarf tomato crops under different LED lighting and fertilizer conditions is being conducted to allow for a preliminary down selection of the two best lighting recipes and the best fertilizer treatment. Two trials of Chinese cabbage and one trial on dwarf tomato have been completed in on-going ground tests. Horticultural data on crop growth and productivity and chemical data on specific nutrients have been collected and are being analyzed to allow preliminary down selection. Taste test evaluations are planned on the preliminary down selection treatments to allow a final down selection for flight testing. Microbial assessment for hazard analysis critical control points (HACCP) evaluation is also underway to enable implementation of food consumption. Following down selection flight preparation will commence for testing these crops in the Veggie vegetable-production system on the ISS. A crew questionnaire has been developed to better understand the impact of crop growth in Veggie on crew behavioral health. A single Veggie plant growth chamber is currently installed on ISS, and preparations are underway to launch a second Veggie, allowing side-by-side testing under different lighting conditions. Veg-04 will be the first mission that will use this dual-Veggie capability, where the selected cultivar of Tokyo bekana Chinese cabbage will be grown under two different red-to-blue light ratios. ORBITEC has developed custom lighting software allowing independent selection of red and blue light levels. The VEG-05 experiment will test similar light treatments using Red Robin dwarf tomato. These tests offer an opportunity to develop a pick-and-eat fresh vegetable component to the ISS food system as a first step to regular supplemental food production. Our work will help define light colors, levels, and horticultural best practices to achieve high yields of safe, nutritious leafy greens and tomatoes to supplement a space diet of prepackaged food. With this work we will continue the synergistic research to help close gaps in the human research roadmap, and enable humans to venture to Mars and beyond. This research was co-funded by the Human Research Program and Space Biology (MTL1075) in the ILSRA 2015 NRA call.

Description: The purpose of this study was to identify and optimize fast and reliable sampling and detection methods for the identification of pathogens that may be present on produce grown in small vegetable production units on the International Space Station (ISS), thus a field setting. Microbiological testing is necessary before astronauts are allowed to consume produce grown on ISS where currently there are two vegetable production units deployed, Lada and Veggie.