Environmental factors such as light intensity (PPF) and/or air temperature may be limiting engineering constraints in near or long-term space missions. This will potentially affect NASA's ability to provide either dietary augmentation to the crew or maintain a large-scale bioregenerative life support system. Crops being considered by NASA to provide supplemental food for crew consumption during such missions consist primarily of minimally processed “salad” species. Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. cv. Flandria), radish (Raphanus sativus L. cv. Cherry Bomb II), and green onion (Allium fistulosum L. cv. Kinka) are being evaluated under a range of PPF and temperature environments likely to be encountered in space systems. Plants were grown for 35 days under cool-white fluorescent (CWF) lamps with light intensities of 8.6, 17.2, or 26 μmol·m-2·d-1, at air temperatures of 25 and 28 °C, and 50% relative humidity, and 1200 μmol·mol-1 CO2. Regardless of temperature, all three species showed an increase in edible mass with increasing light levels. When grown at 28 °C, edible mass of radish was significantly reduced at all lighting intensities compared to 25 °C, indicating a lower optimal temperature for radish. Understanding the interactions of these environmental factors on crop performance is a critical element to defining future missions that incorporate plant-based life support technologies.
Low-cost Large Scale Vermicompost Unit
