The Need

In future decades, more people than ever will be spending time in space. Current crop production systems onboard spacecraft are not self-sustainable, relying on fertilizer and substrate materials that must be launched from Earth. These resupply missions can cost thousands of dollars per pound and are susceptible to delays. The future of a permanent human presence in space requires innovative breakthroughs in sustainable space agriculture.

The Technology

OSU inventors have developed a novel method that uses dust collected on the spacecraft as a nutrient source and root substrate for plant growth. This makes spaceflight more self-sustainable and less reliant on Earth-based materials, while also repurposing a waste product that would otherwise take up valuable storage space.

Benefits/Advantages

This technology offers several compelling benefits and advantages:

• Cost-effective: Decreases reliance on launching new payloads of agricultural material from Earth.
• Efficient: Uses less water compared to substrate-based methods.
• Supports remote missions: Enables continuous plant production on space missions beyond low earth orbit, where resupply launches are not an option.

Provisional patent application filed