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Zinnia plant in bloom aboard an Earth orbiting space station. The growth of plants in outer space has elicited much scientific interest. [1] In the late 20th and early 21st century, plants were often taken into space in low Earth orbit to be grown in a weightless but pressurized controlled environment, sometimes called space gardens. [1]
Plants can metabolize carbon dioxide in the air to produce valuable oxygen, and can help control cabin humidity. [4] Growing plants in space may provide a psychological benefit to human spaceflight crews. [4] The first challenge in growing plants in space is how to get plants to grow without gravity. [5]
A Veggie module weighs less than 8 kg (18 lb) and uses 90 watts. [7] It consists of three parts: a lighting system, a bellows enclosure, and a reservoir. [8] The lighting system regulates the amount and intensity of light plants receive, the bellows enclosure keeps the environment inside the unit separate from its surroundings, and the reservoir connects to plant pillows where the seeds grow.
This is because the smaller plants do not have enough volume to create a considerable amount of heat. Large plants, on the other hand, have a lot of mass to create and retain heat. [5] Thermogenic plants are also protogynous, meaning that the female part of the plant matures before the male part of the same plant. This reduces inbreeding ...
Climax species, also called late seral, late-successional, K-selected or equilibrium species, are plant species that can germinate and grow with limited resources; e.g., they need heat exposure or low water availability. [1]
Gravitropism is an integral part of plant growth, orienting its position to maximize contact with sunlight, as well as ensuring that the roots are growing in the correct direction. Growth due to gravitropism is mediated by changes in concentration of the plant hormone auxin within plant cells.
Essentially, the space farm turns the spaceship into an artificial ecosystem with a hydrological cycle and nutrient recycling. [4] [5] In addition to maintaining a shelf-life and reducing total mass, the ability to grow food in space would help reduce the vitamin gap in astronaut's diets and provide fresh food with improved taste and texture.
Plants that show epigeal germination grow relatively fast, especially in the first phase when the leaflets unfold. Because of this, they occur frequently in areas that experience regular flooding, for example at the river borders in the Amazon region. The fast germination enables the plant to develop before the next flooding takes place. [1]