The EDEN Inititave - Overview of DLR'S Life Support Systems Developments utilizing Higher Plant Cultivation

Abstract

Humanity’s plans to further explore space require the development of Bio-regenerative Life Support Systems (BLSS) fully incorporated into the habitats on Moon and Mars. These concepts aim to decrease the (re-)supply mass by (re-)generating essential resources for humans through biological processes. Within a BLSS, the cultivation of higher plants can take an essential role, since it can contribute to all major functional aspects (all-in-one-approach) in closing different loops within a habitat (e.g. food production, CO2 reduction & O2 production, water recycling and waste management). Furthermore, fresh crops are not only beneficial for human physiological health, but also have a positive impact towards the crew’s psychological health. Adding up these features, the higher plants represent a unique asset, which makes the investigation in their cultivation procedures an essential endeavor. The EDEN Initiative is one pillar of the DLR’s ambition to develop BLSS for human long-duration space missions utilizing Higher Plant cultivation. EDEN combines different CEA Technologies (Controlled Environment Agriculture) within a planetary Greenhouse-Module (GHM). The group’s research focus is set on: • System Analysis of advanced greenhouse systems for planetary deployments (e.g. Moon/ Mars) • GHM Air Management Systems • Aeroponic- and advanced Nutrient Delivery Systems • Water-cooled LED systems • Health Monitoring Systems • Analogue Test Site Campaigns • Terrestrial Spin-off Application (e.g. Vertical Farming) The presentation gives an overview of the latest activities of the EDEN Initiative. Furthermore, the new EDEN laboratory incl. biological cleanroom, suitable for different plant experiments will be highlighted. This laboratory will be the nucleus for a variety of plant cultivation experiments within closed environments (e.g. testing of different light - & irrigation systems).