Capabilities of the Commercial Plant Biotechnology Facility to support plant activities on the International Space Station

Abstract

A Commercial Plant Biotechnology Facility (CPBF) for the International Space Station (ISS) has been developed by the Wisconsin Center for Space Automation and Robotics (WCSAR) that would support plant growth for long time periods in reduced gravity and have a large plant growing volume. The CPBF integrates proven ASTROCULTURE™ technologies developed by WCSAR, state-of-the-art environment control software, and fault tolerance and recovery technologies together to increase overall system efficiency, reliability, robustness, flexibility, and user friendliness. The CPBF consists of six major subsystems: the temperature control system; the humidity control system; the lighting control system; the fluid nutrient delivery system; the atmospheric control system, and the information (data and video) management system. This paper describes the characteristics and the performances of the temperature, humidity, and lighting systems. Evaluation of other subsystems are being conducted.