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Advanced AstrocultureTM (ADVASC)
08.07.09

Overview | Description | Applications | Operations | Results | Publications | Images

Experiment/Payload Overview

Brief Summary

Understanding the effects of gravity on plant life is essential in preparation for future interplanetary exploration. The ability to produce high energy, low mass food sources during space flight will enable the maintenance of crew health during long duration missions while having a reduced impact on resources necessary for long distance travel. Additional applications of a plant growth chamber include using plants as components of regenerative life support systems for travel to the Moon and Mars.

Principal Investigator

  • Weijia Zhou, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin - Madison, Madison, WI

    • Co-Investigator(s)/Collaborator(s)

  • Tom Corbin, Ph.D., Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc (a DuPont Company), Champaign, IL

    • Payload Developer

    University of Wisconsin - Madison, Wisconsin Center for Space Automation and Robotics, Madison, WI

    Sponsoring Agency

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

    Expeditions Assigned

    |2|4|5|

    Previous ISS Missions

    The precursor to ADVASC, AstrocultureTM flew on several Space Shuttle missions, including STS-107, which was lost in 2003.

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    Experiment/Payload Description

    Research Summary

    • The International Space Station (ISS) provided an ideal laboratory for growing plants and studying the influence of gravity on plants that evolved on Earth.


    • Advanced AstrocultureTM (ADVASC) determined whether plants can complete their seed-to-seed life cycle in microgravity, as well as determined the effects of microgravity on gene expression levels and compared the chemical characteristics of the various seeds produced on the ISS versus seeds harvested on Earth.

    Description

    The ADVASC investigation explored the benefits of using microgravity to create custom crops that can withstand the inhospitable climates of space flight, resist pestilence, and need less space to grow. ADVASC was performed in three phases over several ISS expeditions. The first phase of the investigation occurred on ISS Expedition 2 and involved growing Arabidopsis thaliana (rapidly growing, flowering plant in the mustard family that has been grown on many space missions) from seed to seed in space. The second phase of the investigation used new Arabidopsis thaliana seed, as well as seeds harvested from the first phase to create a second generation of Arabidopsis thaliana plants. The third and final phase of the investigation grew soybean plants using the ADVASC hardware.

    Soybeans are a widely used food crop on Earth and a potential food crop for future long duration space missions. The ADVASC investigators looked for genetic and structural differences, such as improved oil or carbohydrate production, between Earth grown and space grown soybeans that could be exploited to create better products.

    The ADVASC plant growth unit was configured to fit into an EXPRESS Rack. The ADVASC support system held the computer and electronics that kept the experiment functioning. The ADVASC growth chamber was housed directly above the support system and was enclosed and environmentally controlled. It provided 486 square centimeters of growing area, 34.5 centimeters of growth height underneath the wide-spectrum light-emitting diodes and 5 centimeters of root-growth space. The rooting material consisted of a porous material that resembled peat moss, with tiny capillaries that transported water to the seedlings. The support system kept the growth chamber at temperatures ranging from 17 degrees C - 45 degrees C, depending on investigation requirements.

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    Applications

    Space Applications

    ADVASC explored the benefits of using microgravity to create customized crops that withstand disease and inhospitable conditions, resist pestilence, and need less space to grow. These are qualities that will benefit space explorers and earth inhabitants. Plant growth and development in microgravity will provide a natural air and water filtration system and large-scale plant growth systems. Furthermore, ADVASC is a precursor for growing plants during extended space expeditions to the Moon and Mars.

    Earth Applications

    ADVASC has contributed to National Security, cancer-fighting pharmaceuticals and educational tools for students. Bio-KES, a device that uses ultraviolet light to convert ethylene into carbon dioxide and water, to remove the ethylene from plant growth chamber, can be used to kill pathogens like anthrax. The light, used to simulate photosynthesis in the growth chambers, heals wounds and increases the effectiveness of cancer-fighting drugs in vitro. The Orbital Laboratory is an internet-based multimedia tool that allowed students and educators to conduct their own ground-based plant experiments and to analyze data returned from the ADVASC units in their classrooms on Earth.

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    Operations

    Operational Requirements

    ADVASC was designed to operate relatively autonomously, providing temperature, humidity, lighting control, nutrient delivery, and data downlink with minimal crew assistance. The experiment did not need power during delivery and return on the Shuttle, but required continuous power while on ISS. Video and computer support controlled through the ADVASC-Support System sent data directly to investigators at Wisconsin Center for Space Automation and Robotics (WCSAR) via the Telescience Resource Kit (TReK) system. The crew provided on-orbit support, using syringes to take samples and making sure the hardware was operated nominally.

    Operational Protocols

    During ISS Expeditions 2 and 4, ninety-one Arabidopsis thaliana seeds were planted in the ADVASC hardware. The ADVASC hardware was activated on ISS, the hardware maintained a temperature of 22 degrees C, a relative humidity of 70 percent and 16 hours of light followed by 8 hour dark periods. The crew monitored the plants periodically and took samples at scheduled intervals.

    For ISS Expedition 5, eight soybean seeds (Pioneer Brand 9306) were planted in the ADVASC hardware and sent to ISS. Following activation of the investigation on ISS, the temperature was maintained at 26 degrees C - 22 degrees C, for light and dark respectively. The relative humidity was maintained at 70 percent with fourteen hour light cycles followed by 10 hour dark cycles. The crew monitored the plants periodically and took samples at scheduled intervals.

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    Results/More Information

    Arabidopsis thaliana was successfully grown from seed to seed on ISS. During a two-month growth period, the plants progressed from seed hydration to germination, vegetative, and reproductive stages, producing mature seeds. Ninety percent of the seeds germinated in space, although only 70 percent of the plants grew to maturity.

    Some of the seeds that were harvested from the plants grown in microgravity were planted in a ground study. These seeds produced typical plants without any visible abnormalities (Link et al. 2003). During a second ADVASC run, second-generation seeds were produced and tissues were harvested and preserved for RNA and complementary deoxyribonucleic acid (cDNA) analysis. Detailed results of the germination and harvesting of space-grown seeds in the ADVASC growth chamber in the U.S. Destiny laboratory have not been released.

    In the third ADVASC run, which took place over approximately 95 days on ISS, soybeans were grown from seed to seed for the first time in space. Biomass production in the space seeds was approximately 4 percent larger than ground controls. Flight and grounds controls produced nearly identical numbers of seeds, but the space seeds were larger on average. Scientists found that the seeds produced in space were healthy, the germination rates were comparable to those on Earth, and no major morphological differences were evident. Phytochemical analysis of commercially important components such as oils, amino acids, proteins, carbohydrates, and phytoestrogens have not yet been released.

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    Related Web Sites
  • NASA Fact Sheet
  • NASA Fact Sheet - ADVASC during Expedition 4
  • NASA Fact Sheet - ADVASC during Expedition 2
  • WCSAR Site on ADVASC
  • Airing Out Anthrax
  • The Arabidopsis Information Resource

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    Publications

    Results Publications
    • Zhou W. Advanced AstrocultureTM Plant Growth Unit: Capabilities and Performances. 35th International Conference on Environmental Systems, Rome, Italy. Jul 11 - 14, 2005 .
    • Link BM, Durst SJ, Zhou W, Stankovic B. Seed-to-seed growth of Arabidopsis Thaliana on the International Space Station. Advances in Space Research. 2003 ;31(10):2237-2243.
    • Zhou W, Durst SJ, DeMars M, Stankovic B, Link BM, Tellez G, Meyers RA, Sandstrom PW, Abba JR. Performance of the Advanced ASTROCULTURETM plant growth unit during ISS-6A/7A mission. SAE Technical Paper Series. 2002 ;Paper # 02ICES-267.

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    Related Publications
    • Zhou W, Turner M. Development of the Commercial Plant Biotechnology Facility for the International Space Station. Proceedings of International Conference on Environmental Control, Toulouse, France. Jul 8 - 12, . 2000
    • Duffie NA, Oberstar E, Kornfeld M, Ptacek W, Zhou W. Design of a Crop Harvesting End Effector for the Robotic System used in the NASA JSC Biomass Production Chamber. SAE Technical Paper Series. ;Paper # 03ICES-414. 2003
    • Stankovic B. A plant space odyssey. Trends in Plant Science. ;6(12):591-593. 2001
    • Sene JJ, Zeltner WA, Anderson MA, Zhou W. A Sensor for Monitoring the Volume of Nutrient in a Solid Substrate Based Growth Media by Using Electrochemical Admittance Spectroscopy. Sensors & Actuators: B, Chemical. ;87:268-273. 2002
    • Negele T, Duffie NA, Zhou W. Design of a Reconfigurable End Effector to be Integrated into the Robotic System used in the NASA JSC Biomass Production Chamber. SAE Technical Paper Series. ;Paper # 02ICES-269. 2002
    • Link BM, Wagner E., Cosgrove DJ. The effect of a microgravity (space) environment on the expression of expansins from the peg and root tissues of Cucumis sativus. Physiologia Plantarum. ;113(2):293-300. 2001
    • Stankovic B, Antonsen F, Johnsson A, Volkmann D, Sack FD. Autonomic straightening of gravitropically curved cress roots in microgravity. Advances in Space Research. ;27(5):915-919. 2001
    • Mookherjee B, Patel S, Zhou W. Novel Rose Essential Oil Developed in Space. Perfumer & Flavorist, Allured. . 2001
    • Link BM, Cosgrove DJ. Analysis of peg formation in cucumber seedlings grown on clinostats and in a microgravity (space) environment. Journal Of Plant Research. ;112(1108):507-516. 1999
    • Zhou W, Duffie N. Performance of the ASTROCULTURE? Plant Growth Chamber (ASC-8) during the STS-95 Mission. Proceedings of International Conference on Environmental Control, Toulouse, France. Jul 8 - 12, . 2000
    • Zhou W, Zeltner W, Meyers RA. Advanced Photocatalytic Ethylene Degradation Technology to Support Plant Research in the Enclosed Environment. SAE Technical Paper Series. ;Paper # 03ICES-415. 2003

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    Images

    imageNASA Image: ISS005E08001- NASA ISS Science Officer, Peggy Whitson looks at the ADVASC Soybean plant growth experiment in the U.S. Laboratory during Increment 5.
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    imageVideo screen shot of the NASA ISS Science Officer, Peggy Whitson working with ADVASC during Increment 5. Image courtesy of NASA, Johnson Space Center.
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    imageVideo screen shot of tissue from the Arabidopsis thaliana plants. The plant tissues are sampled for RNA analysis on the ground. The samples are taken at two different points in the growth cycle. This picture shows the plants in the container in which they are preserved. Image courtesy of NASA, Johnson Space Center.
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    imageDried Arabidopsis thaliana plants, from ISS Expedition 4, upon their return to Earth. Image courtesy of Weijia Zhou.
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    Information Provided and Updated by the ISS Program Scientist's Office
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