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Plant Growth Experiments in Zeoponic Substrates: Applications for Advanced Life Support SystemsA zeoponic plant-growth system is defined as the cultivation of plants in artificial soils, which have zeolites as a major component (Allen and Ming, 1995). Zeolites are crystalline, hydrated aluminosilicate minerals that have the ability to exchange constituent cations without major change of the mineral structure. Recently, zeoponic systems developed at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) slowly release some (Allen et at., 1995) or all of the essential plant-growth nutrients (Ming et at., 1995). These systems have NH4- and K-exchanged clinoptilolite (a natural zeolite) and either natural or synthetic apatite (a calcium phosphate mineral). For the natural apatite system, Ca and P were made available to the plant by the dissolution of apatite. Potassium and NH4-N were made available by ion-exchange reactions involving Ca(2+) from apatite dissolution and K(+) and NH4(+) on zeolitic exchange sites. In addition to NH4-N, K, Ca, and P, the synthetic apatite system also supplied Mg, S, and other micronutrients during dissolution (Figure 1). The overall objective of this research task is to develop zeoponic substrates wherein all plant growth nutrients are supplied by the plant growth medium for several growth seasons with only the addition of water. The substrate is being developed for plant growth in Advanced Life Support (ALS) testbeds (i.e., BioPLEX) and microgravity plant growth experiments. Zeoponic substrates have been used for plant growth experiments on two Space Shuttle flight experiments (STS-60; STS-63; Morrow et aI., 1995). These substrates may be ideally suited for plant growth experiments on the International Space Station and applications in ALS testbeds. However, there are several issues that need to be resolved before zeoponics will be the choice substrate for plant growth experiments in space. The objective of this paper is to provide an overview on recent research directed toward the refinement of zeoponic plant growth substrates.
Document ID
20100033397
Acquisition Source
Johnson Space Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Ming, Douglas W. (NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Gruener, J. E. (Hernandez Engineering, Inc. Houston, TX, United States)
Henderson, K. E. (NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Steinberg, S. L. (Liberated Services Houston, TX, United States)
Barta, D. J. (NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Galindo, C. (NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Henninger, D. L. (Liberated Services Houston, TX, United States)
Date Acquired
August 25, 2013
Publication Date
January 17, 2001
Subject Category
Man/System Technology And Life Support
Report/Patent Number
JSC-CN-6351
Meeting Information
Meeting: Bioastronautics Investigators'' Workshop
Location: Galveston, TX
Country: United States
Start Date: January 17, 2001
End Date: January 19, 2001
Funding Number(s)
OTHER: 131-50-20-23
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.

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