Controlled Ecological Life Support Systems 



• To establish a NASA capability to integrate and test plant growth subsystems 

 within sealed chambers, including the following: 



— Development of a large, sealed chamber facility and supporting laboratories 

 to grow plants 



— Improvement of methods to grow plants hydroponically under confined 

 space and recycling conditions 



• To design, construct, and obtain subsystems to: 



— Control atmospheric contaminants in the sealed chamber 



— Collect and regenerate condensate water and spent nutrient solutions 



— Recycle human and solid plant wastes 



— Process edible biomass 



— Convert inedible biomass to food 



• To integrate and evaluate waste management and food-processing subsystems 

 with the biomass production chamber. 



A project plan with three phases was completed 

 in March 1986. Phase I (1986-1989) is designed to 

 achieve high performance from plants grown in 

 a controlled chamber. It included the 

 construction of a large (113 m\ 72 m 1 plant 

 growth volume) biomass production chamber 

 that was tested in an open mode with wheat 

 (December 1986-April 1987) and was sealed 

 during May 1988 for crop production to begin in 

 June 1988. The chamber provides for control of 

 lighting, temperature, moisture, air flow, and 

 collection of all condensate water. Plant growth 

 studies will start with wheat and will advance 

 to multiple crops, such as beans, lettuce, and 

 potatoes, as well as wheat. 



Phase II, scheduled for 1987 through 1991, 

 includes the development of subsystems 

 necessary to process food and manage waste. 

 Food processing will involve preparation and 

 conversion of nonedible plant parts to usable 

 materials. Waste management requires the 

 control of CO ; , : , and trace gas contaminants; 

 water purification for spent nutrients and 

 condensate; and recycling the constituents of 

 solid and liquid human waste and nonedible 

 biomass. The food processing and waste 

 management systems will be integrated with the 

 biomass production. 



The Breadboard facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center is a 

 large-scale pilot biomass production chamber designed to produce 

 high yields from plants grown in a closed and closely controlled 

 environment. 



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