Plant Cultivation Technologies for Space

Abstract

Sustained human presence in space requires the development of new technologies to maintain environmental control, to manage wastes, to provide water, oxygen, food and to keep future astronauts healthy and psychologically fit. The cultivation of higher plants in dedicated greenhouse modules is advantageous from this regard due to their ability to be used for food production, carbon dioxide reduction, oxygen production, water recycling and waste management. Furthermore, fresh crops are not only beneficial for human physiological health, but also have a positive impact on crew psychological well-being. The presentation will give a general overview the project and focuses on the deployment- and isolation phase of the EDEN ISS research platform in Antarctica.