NASA News Release
February 17, 1998
Aeroponics in space Aeroponics at 0
gravity
Boulder, Colorado:
NASA announced today that
Aeroponics International (formerly EnviroGen, Inc.) of Berthoud, CO is the
recipient of a 1998 SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) grant for space
related research. NASA received 2,226 applications for the SBIR grants,
granting a total of $24M to 335 firms nationwide. Aeroponics
International will use the NASA funds to conduct research on a High
Performance, Gravity Insensitive, Enclosed Aeroponic System for Food Production
in Space.
Aeroponics is the process of
growing plants in air without soil or media. Richard Stoner, inventor,
founder and CEO of Aeroponic International developed and patented a method and
apparatus for aeroponic crop production in 1985. Stoner’s aeroponic
apparatus supports the growth of seeds and small plants and promotes rapid
growth development in an enclosed air/moisture rich environment. The
company's aeroponic technology does not rely on vast quantities of water, which
differentiates it from food growth methods like hydroponics. Aeroponically
grown plants spend 99.9% of their time growing in air. The plants receive
the necessary moisture and nutrients from a computer controlled misting
apparatus.
According to Stoner, the
company will utilize the SBIR grant to develop a unique hydro-atomizer to
deliver the aeroponic mist inside a lightweight aeroponic apparatus. The
aeroponic system could be used to produce the various food crops that NASA
intends to grow in space. Aeroponics International's aeroponic technology
is being used here on earth as well. There are over 1,500 installations of the
company's aeroponic system around the world, used primarily by commercial
greenhouse growers for horticultural flower and plant production.
The company will utilize the
research services of BioServe Space Technologies, a NASA sponsored Commercial
Space Center located at the University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, to assist its
efforts in developing its aeroponics technology for space. BioServe has
flown space payload experiments on 17 shuttle missions and two four- month Mir
missions during the past ten years.
The Aeroponics
International/BioServe team recently completed studies aboard the Mir Space
Station which ended when astronaut David Wolfe returned back to earth aboard
the Space Shuttle Endeavour, on January 31st, bringing back with him Aeroponics
International's Organic Disease Control (ODC) experiments. Aeroponics
International's ODC experiments on adzuki beans were the first experiments of
their kind to be conducted on food crops in low-gravity. BioServe
researcher Mike Sportiello says that preliminary analysis of the experiments
shows good growth of the space flown adzuki seedlings. In addition, seeds
and seedlings treated with ODC appear to have exhibited more robust growth and
disease resistance than those without the ODC treatment. Further
biochemical analysis, to be performed by Dr. Jim Linden at Colorado State
University, will shed more light on the effect of the ODC treatment on the
growth and disease resistance of the adzuki beans grown on Mir.
Sportiello went on to say that an environmentally benign method such as
Aeroponics International's ODC system could be a valuable advancement both for
growing food crops on an ever more populated earth and for producing food in
non-terrestrial environments as humans continue to explore the cosmos beyond
earth. Aeroponics International's patent pending ODC technology combined
with the company's patented aeroponic technology may help astronauts grow food
crops in a highly efficient and environmentally benign manner.
BioServe researcher Jim Clawson
stated that BioServe has conducted a number of plant experiments in micro
gravity aboard numerous space shuttle missions. "With our latest
payload, the Plant Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus, we have been very successful
in providing a controlled environment of light, temperature, atmosphere,
humidity, and nutrients for plant development. Aeroponics International's
aeroponic technology offers some potential performance advantages over
currently developed space flight nutrient delivery systems. The results
of this research may increase the efficiency of food production systems that
would be needed to support long term space flight missions including the
International Space Station, back to the Moon, or perhaps even
Mars." BioServe’s Sportiello commented, "We are encouraged by
this NASA SBIR grant because it will help our team develop Aeroponics
International's aeroponic process, which may help the space program utilize
lightweight materials and conserve precious levels of water and nutrients in
the course of producing higher yields of healthy food plants."
Stoner stated, "We have a
lot of work ahead of us with the SBIR grant, but the potential for this
technology is tremendous. The grant will help us optimize the performance and
reduce the overall cost of producing the aeroponic systems, thus making their
widespread use more viable for food crop production on earth. The world's
populations may well double in the next century and we cannot rely on traditional
methods of agriculture to meet the world's demands." Sportiello
heartily agrees, and believes aeroponic technology, combined with the
advancements in the ODC system made possible by continued research such as that
conducted aboard the Mir Space Station, may help usher in a whole new era of
food production for mankind here on earth and in space.