High density long-term cultivation of Chlorella vulgaris SAG 211-12 in a novel microgravity-capable membrane raceway photobioreactor for future bioregenerative life support in SPACE

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
pp. 91-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harald Helisch ◽  
Jochen Keppler ◽  
Gisela Detrell ◽  
Stefan Belz ◽  
Reinhold Ewald ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chlorella Vulgaris ◽  
Life Support ◽  
High Density ◽  
Bioregenerative Life Support

scholarly journals Investigating the Growth of Algae Under Low Atmospheric Pressures for Potential Food and Oxygen Production on Mars

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leena M. Cycil ◽  
Elisabeth M. Hausrath ◽  
Douglas W. Ming ◽  
Christopher T. Adcock ◽  
James Raymond ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Support ◽  
Light Exposure ◽  
Algal Growth ◽  
Continuous Light ◽  
Low Pressure ◽  
Snow Algae ◽  
Bioregenerative Life Support System ◽  
Potential Food ◽  
Bioregenerative Life Support

With long-term missions to Mars and beyond that would not allow resupply, a self-sustaining Bioregenerative Life Support System (BLSS) is essential. Algae are promising candidates for BLSS due to their completely edible biomass, fast growth rates and ease of handling. Extremophilic algae such as snow algae and halophilic algae may also be especially suited for a BLSS because of their ability to grow under extreme conditions. However, as indicated from over 50 prior space studies examining algal growth, little is known about the growth of algae at close to Mars-relevant pressures. Here, we explored the potential for five algae species to produce oxygen and food under low-pressure conditions relevant to Mars. These included Chloromonas brevispina, Kremastochrysopsis austriaca, Dunaliella salina, Chlorella vulgaris, and Spirulina plantensis. The cultures were grown in duplicate in a low-pressure growth chamber at 670 ± 20 mbar, 330 ± 20 mbar, 160 ± 20 mbar, and 80 ± 2.5 mbar pressures under continuous light exposure (62–70 μmol m–2 s–1). The atmosphere was evacuated and purged with CO2 after sampling each week. Growth experiments showed that D. salina, C. brevispina, and C. vulgaris were the best candidates to be used for BLSS at low pressure. The highest carrying capacities for each species under low pressure conditions were achieved by D. salina at 160 mbar (30.0 ± 4.6 × 105 cells/ml), followed by C. brevispina at 330 mbar (19.8 ± 0.9 × 105 cells/ml) and C. vulgaris at 160 mbar (13.0 ± 1.5 × 105 cells/ml). C. brevispina, D. salina, and C. vulgaris all also displayed substantial growth at the lowest tested pressure of 80 mbar reaching concentrations of 43.4 ± 2.5 × 104, 15.8 ± 1.3 × 104, and 57.1 ± 4.5 × 104 cells per ml, respectively. These results indicate that these species are promising candidates for the development of a Mars-based BLSS using low pressure (∼200–300 mbar) greenhouses and inflatable structures that have already been conceptualized and designed.

Development of Equipment that Uses Far-Red Light to Impose Seed Dormancy in Arabidopsis for Spaceflight

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 8-19
Author(s):  
Caleb P. Fitzgerald ◽  
Richard J. Barker ◽  
Won-Gyu Choi ◽  
Sarah J. Swanson ◽  
Shawn D. Stephens ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Support ◽  
Red Light ◽  
Aluminum Foil ◽  
Long Term Storage ◽  
Human Habitation ◽  
Petri Dishes ◽  
Bioregenerative Life Support System ◽  
The One ◽  
Bioregenerative Life Support

AbstractIn order to use plants as part of a bioregenerative life support system capable of sustaining long-term human habitation in space, it is critical to understand how plants adapt to the stresses associated with extended growth in spaceflight. Optimally, dormant seeds would be germinated on orbit to divorce the effects of spaceflight from the one-time stresses of launch. At an operational level, it is also important to develop experiment protocols that are flexible in timing so they can adapt to crew schedules and unexpected flight-related delays. Arabidopsis thaliana is widely used for investigating the molecular responses of plants to spaceflight. Here we describe the development of a far-red light seed treatment device that suppresses germination of Arabidopsis seeds for periods of ≥12 weeks. Germination can then be induced when the seeds encounter red light, such as transfer to the illumination from on orbit plant growth hardware. This device allows for up to twelve 10×10 cm square Petri dishes containing seeds on nutrient gel to be irradiated simultaneously. The far-red device is contained within a light-proof fabric tent allowing the user to wrap the Petri dishes in aluminum foil in the dark, preventing room lights from reversing the far-red treatment. Long-term storage of the wrapped plates is accomplished using foil storage bags. The throughput of this device facilitates robust, high-replicate biological experiment design, while providing the long-term pre-experiment storage required for maximum mission flexibility.

How to Establish a Bioregenerative Life Support System for Long-Term Crewed Missions to the Moon or Mars

Astrobiology ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (12) ◽  
pp. 925-936 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuming Fu ◽  
Leyuan Li ◽  
Beizhen Xie ◽  
Chen Dong ◽  
Mingjuan Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Support System ◽  
Life Support ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Life Support System ◽  
Bioregenerative Life Support System ◽  
Bioregenerative Life Support

scholarly journals Biosphere 2’s Lessons about Living on Earth and in Space

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Mark Nelson
Keyword(s):  
Life Support ◽  
Support Systems ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Farm Animals ◽  
Space Applications ◽  
Life Support Systems ◽  
Biosphere 2 ◽  
Space Life Support ◽  
Bioregenerative Life Support

Biosphere 2, the largest and most biodiverse closed ecological system facility yet created, has contributed vital lessons for living with our planetary biosphere and for long-term habitation in space. From the space life support perspective, Biosphere 2 contrasted with previous BLSS work by including areas based on Earth wilderness biomes in addition to its provision for human life support and by using a soil-based intensive agricultural system producing a complete human diet. No previous BLSS system had included domestic farm animals. All human and domestic animal wastes were also recycled and returned to the crop soils. Biosphere 2 was important as a first step towards learning how to miniaturize natural ecosystems and develop technological support systems compatible with life. Biosphere 2’s mostly successful operation for three years (1991-1994) changed thinking among space life support scientists and the public at large about the need for minibiospheres for long-term habitation in space. As an Earth systems laboratory, Biosphere 2 was one of the first attempts to make ecology an experimental science at a scale relevant to planetary issues such as climate change, regenerative agriculture, nutrient and water recycling, loss of biodiversity, and understanding of the roles wilderness biomes play in the Earth’s biosphere. Biosphere 2 aroused controversy because of narrow definitions and expectations of how science is to be conducted. The cooperation between engineers and ecologists and the requirement to design a technosphere that supported the life inside without harming it have enormous relevance to what is required in our global home. Applications of bioregenerative life support systems for near-term space applications such as initial Moon and/or Mars bases, will be severely limited by high costs of transport to space and so will rely on lighter weight, hydroponic systems of growing plants which will focus first on water and air regeneration and gradually increase its production of food required by astronauts or inhabitants. The conversion of these systems to more robust and sustainable systems will require advanced technologies, e.g., to capture sunlight for plant growth or process usable materials from the lunar or Martian atmosphere and regolith, leading to greater utilization of in situ space resources and less on transport from Earth. There are many approaches to the accomplishment of space life support. Significant progress has been made especially by two research efforts in China and the MELiSSA project of the European Space Agency. These approaches use cybernetic controls and the integration of intensive modules to accomplish food production, waste treatment and recycling, atmospheric regeneration, and in some systems, high-protein production from insects and larvae. Biosphere 2 employed a mix of ecological self-organization and human intervention to protect biodiversity for wilderness biomes with a tighter management of food crops in its agriculture. Biosphere 2’s aims were different than bioregenerative life support systems (BLSS) which have focused exclusively on human life support. Much more needs to be learned from both smaller, efficient ground-based BLSS for nearer-term habitation and from minibiospheric systems for long-term space application to transform humanity and Earth-life into truly multiplanet species.

Chlorella vulgaris culture as a regulator of CO2 in a bioregenerative life support system

2013 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 773-779 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ming Li ◽  
Dawei Hu ◽  
Hong Liu ◽  
Enzhu Hu ◽  
Beizhen Xie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Support System ◽  
Chlorella Vulgaris ◽  
Life Support ◽  
Life Support System ◽  
Bioregenerative Life Support System ◽  
Bioregenerative Life Support

scholarly journals Agro-biology for bioregenerative Life Support Systems in long-term Space missions: General constraints and the Italian efforts

2009 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 241-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veronica De Micco ◽  
Giovanna Aronne ◽  
Giuseppe Colla ◽  
Raimondo Fortezza ◽  
Stefania De Pascale
Keyword(s):  
Life Support ◽  
Support Systems ◽  
Space Missions ◽  
Life Support Systems ◽  
General Constraints ◽  
Bioregenerative Life Support

scholarly journals Chlorella Vulgaris Photobioreactor for Oxygen and Food Production on a Moon Base—Potential and Challenges

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gisela Detrell
Keyword(s):  
Chlorella Vulgaris ◽  
Radiation Effects ◽  
Life Support ◽  
Higher Plants ◽  
Algal Species ◽  
Processing System ◽  
Space Applications ◽  
Operational Conditions ◽  
Wide Range

A base on the Moon surface or a mission to Mars are potential destinations for human spaceflight, according to current space agencies’ plans. These scenarios pose several new challenges, since the environmental and operational conditions of the mission will strongly differ than those on the International Space Station (ISS). One critical parameter will be the increased mission duration and further distance from Earth, requiring a Life Support System (LSS) as independent as possible from Earth’s resources. Current LSS physico-chemical technologies at the ISS can recycle 90% of water and regain 42% of O2 from the astronaut’s exhaled CO2, but they are not able to produce food, which can currently only be achieved using biology. A future LSS will most likely include some of these technologies currently in use, but will also need to include biological components. A potential biological candidate are microalgae, which compared to higher plants, offer a higher harvest index, higher biomass productivity and require less water. Several algal species have already been investigated for space applications in the last decades, being Chlorella vulgaris a promising and widely researched species. C. vulgaris is a spherical single cell organism, with a mean diameter of 6 µm. It can grow in a wide range of pH and temperature levels and CO2 concentrations and it shows a high resistance to cross contamination and to mechanical shear stress, making it an ideal organism for long-term LSS. In order to continuously and efficiently produce the oxygen and food required for the LSS, the microalgae need to grow in a well-controlled and stable environment. Therefore, besides the biological aspects, the design of the cultivation system, the Photobioreactor (PBR), is also crucial. Even if research both on C. vulgaris and in general about PBRs has been carried out for decades, several challenges both in the biological and technological aspects need to be solved, before a PBR can be used as part of the LSS in a Moon base. Those include: radiation effects on algae, operation under partial gravity, selection of the required hardware for cultivation and food processing, system automation and long-term performance and stability.

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