Subject(s)
Research/organization & administration , Spacecraft , Astronauts , Astronomy , Bacteria/pathogenicity , China , Humans , International Cooperation , Neoplasms/pathology , Physics , Politics , Research/economics , Research/trends , Robotics , Space Flight/economics , Space Flight/trends , Spacecraft/economicsABSTRACT
The feasibility and design of the CultCube 12U CubeSat hosting a small Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS) for the autonomous cultivation of a small plant in orbit is described. The satellite is aimed at running experiments in fruit plants growing for applications in crewed vehicles for long-term missions in space. CultCube is mainly composed of a pressurized vessel, constituting the outer shell of the ECLSS, and by various environmental controls (water, nutrients, air composition and pressure, light, etc.) aimed at maintaining a survivable habitat for the fruit plants to grow. The plant health status and growth performances is monitored using hyperspectral cameras installed within the vessel, able to sense leaves' chlorophyll content and temperature, and allowing the estimation of plant volume in all its life cycle phases. The paper study case is addressed to the in-orbit experimental cultivation of a dwarf tomato plant (MicroTom), which was modified for enhancing the anti-oxidants production and for growing in stressful environments. While simulated microgravity tests have been passed by the MicroTom plant, the organism behaviour in a real microgravity environment for a full seed-to-seed cycle needs to be tested. The CultCube 12U CubeSat mission presents no particular requirements on the kind of orbit, whereas its minimum significative duration corresponds to one seed-to-seed cycle for the plant, which is 90 days for the paper study case. In the paper, after an introduction on the importance of an autonomous testbed for plant cultivation, in the perspective of the implementation of bioregenerative systems on-board future manned long-term missions, the satellite design and the MicroTom engineered plant for in-orbit growth are described. In addition to the description of the whole set of subsystems, with focus on the payload and its controllers and instrumentation, the system budgets are presented. Finally, the first tests conducted by the authors are briefly reported.
Subject(s)
Ecological Systems, Closed , Life Support Systems/instrumentation , Solanum lycopersicum/growth & development , Crop Production/instrumentation , Life Support Systems/economics , Space Flight/economics , Space Flight/instrumentation , Spacecraft , WeightlessnessSubject(s)
Biomedical Research/economics , Environmental Pollution/prevention & control , Global Warming/prevention & control , Moon , Neoplasms/prevention & control , Plastics/isolation & purification , Space Flight , Anti-Bacterial Agents/supply & distribution , Cooperative Behavior , Environmental Pollution/economics , Global Warming/economics , Humans , Neoplasms/economics , Neoplasms/therapy , Politics , Space Flight/economicsSubject(s)
Astronauts , Moon , Space Flight/trends , United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration/organization & administration , China , Humans , Politics , Public-Private Sector Partnerships/economics , Public-Private Sector Partnerships/trends , Robotics/instrumentation , Robotics/trends , Space Flight/economics , Space Flight/instrumentation , Space Flight/legislation & jurisprudence , United States , United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration/economics , United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration/legislation & jurisprudenceSubject(s)
Moon , Private Sector , Space Flight/instrumentation , Space Flight/trends , Astronauts , Extraterrestrial Environment/chemistry , Magnetic Fields , Private Sector/economics , Robotics/instrumentation , Space Flight/economics , United States , United States National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationSubject(s)
Astronauts , Extraterrestrial Environment/chemistry , Housing/trends , Mining/trends , Moon , Space Flight/trends , Animals , Crop Production/trends , Germany , Housing/economics , Humans , Hydrogen/analysis , Mining/economics , Oxygen/analysis , Robotics/trends , Space Flight/economics , Tenebrio/growth & development , Time Factors , United States , United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration , Water/analysisSubject(s)
Astronauts , Space Flight/trends , Humans , India , Politics , Space Flight/economics , Time FactorsSubject(s)
Moon , Research Personnel , Space Flight/legislation & jurisprudence , Space Flight/trends , United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration/legislation & jurisprudence , Astronauts , Extraterrestrial Environment/chemistry , Space Flight/economics , Space Flight/instrumentation , Spacecraft , United States , United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration/economics , Water/analysisSubject(s)
Space Flight/instrumentation , Space Flight/trends , Spacecraft/instrumentation , Travel/economics , Travel/trends , Astronauts , History, 20th Century , History, 21st Century , Industry/economics , Industry/trends , Space Flight/economics , Space Flight/history , Spacecraft/economics , Spacecraft/historySubject(s)
Goals , Program Development , Radiologists/psychology , Space Flight/economics , Dreams , Humans , United StatesSubject(s)
Federal Government , Mars , Politics , Space Flight/legislation & jurisprudence , Space Flight/trends , United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration/legislation & jurisprudence , Astronauts/economics , Astronauts/trends , Humans , Jupiter , Minor Planets , Robotics/economics , Robotics/trends , Space Flight/economics , Space Flight/instrumentation , United States , United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration/economics , United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration/trendsSubject(s)
Cooperative Behavior , Mars , Space Flight , Europe , Exobiology , Methane/analysis , Russia , Space Flight/economics , Space Flight/instrumentation , Water/analysisSubject(s)
Global Warming/legislation & jurisprudence , Analgesics, Opioid/metabolism , Astronomy , Benzylisoquinolines/chemistry , Benzylisoquinolines/metabolism , Bias , CRISPR-Cas Systems/genetics , Diplomacy , Electric Conductivity , Electronics/instrumentation , Embryo Research/ethics , Genetic Engineering/ethics , Genome, Human/genetics , Genomics , Global Warming/economics , Global Warming/prevention & control , History, 21st Century , History, Ancient , Human Migration/history , Humans , Iran , Language/history , Nanotubes, Carbon , Nuclear Weapons/legislation & jurisprudence , Paris , Pluto , Prejudice , Psychology/standards , Reproducibility of Results , Reproductive Medicine/ethics , Sexual Harassment/prevention & control , Space Flight/economics , Space Flight/trends , Synthetic Biology/methods , Temperature , Yeasts/genetics , Yeasts/metabolismABSTRACT
This article introduces the concept of the sociotechnical projectory to explore the importance of future-oriented discourse in technical practice. It examines the case of two flagship NASA missions that, since the 1960s, have been continually proposed and deferred. Despite the missions never being flown, it argues that they produced powerful effects within the planetary science community as assumed "end-points" to which all current technological, scientific, and community efforts are directed. It asserts that attention to the social construction of technological systems requires historical attention to how actors situate themselves with respect to a shared narrative of the future.