A team of University of Nebraska researchers have one major goal: to launch the first center for agriculture in space. Whether it’s Mars or the moon, if people will be there, they’ll have to eat, and so researchers are exploring how to take agriculture out of this world.
It may seem like a far-out idea, but it’s research with one burning question at its core.
“One of the thing we are looking at is how do we grow food in space,” says Santosh Pitla, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln professor of Advanced Machinery Systems who also leads Machine Automation and Agricultural Robotics (MAARS).
The team’s goal is to grow the first acre of corn on Mars’ soil, but today, the focus first is on growing leafy greens like lettuce. While the idea sounds like it’s worlds away, the work in the MAARS lab could revolutionize the future of agriculture.
Pitla has already cracked the ag engineering code on creating autonomous vehicles that can serve multiple purposes. One example is the creation of Flex-Ro, which is short for flexible robot. The autonomous Flex-Ro was built by UNL’s Biological Systems Engineering Department.
“When I say multi-purpose, our goal was to do planting and then spraying nitrogen application. And then we are looking at targeted weeding as well,” Pitla says.
It’s those creations that could level up what they’re trying to accomplish in space, revealing answers on earth that will then be transplanted in space.
“On Earth, we understand irrigation, but in space where there is zero gravity, we don’t know how irrigation works,” he says. “When the plant is deficient in, let’s say fertilizer, or it is stressed because of no water, we can do manual interventions here, but when you are on the surface of Mars or the Moon, it needs to happen robotically. So, it’s those types of scenarios we are envisioning and then trying to come up with this engineered system to address it.”
What started five years ago with Flex-Ro robot, is just starting to scratch the surface on what may be possible in space.
“In space, the environment is toxic. So, it takes a lot of effort for a person to go out and scout for resources, for example,” says Pitla “So then we can send these robots out, just like NASA has Rovers specifically aimed at looking for water and looking for other things. But what we can be looking at is what sort of resources can be reclaimed to support agriculture.”
One of the ways to unlock answers is with a small-scale version of a greenhouse. The researchers are looking into controlled environments as a way to grow food in space.
“We were thinking that in order to have some agriculture in the extreme environment of space, we need to provide an environment for plants so that they can grow in that condition. We have to provide that condition for them,” says Ehsan Fazayeli, a graduate research assistant at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Once the team decided a controlled environment with indoor agriculture made the most sense, they then started exploring sensors that can monitor the plants needs and manage those resources.
“With multiple sensors, we can monitor the light. When there is no light on the surface of moon or mars, it is dark, so we can provide the light and monitor it,” says Fazayeli.
The team is exploring what’s possible with leafy plants today, as agriculture in space may be closer than you think.
“I believe some day we can have some perfect platform for the surface of the Moon and Mars to provide food for crew members without making them busy, so they can focus on their own task, and we will provide food for them,” says Fazayeli.
It may be one small step for researchers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, but it’s one that could truly be a giant leap for mankind, and it’s all because the researchers are exploring and manufacturing tools that could create a new galaxy of possibilities.
“It is out of this world; it’s very exciting,” says Pitla. “I think it’s a very bold idea, but we know over the last decade we have done a lot of advancements in going into space and with large rocket launchings using reusable rockets. I see a day where we will have settlements on space, so I think it’s a very exciting.”
