Michael Braukus

Headquarters, Washington, DC June 12, 1996

(Phone: 202/358-1979)

Joel Wells
Kennedy Space Center, FL
(Phone: 407/867-2468)

RELEASE: 96-120

NASA BEGINS STUDY ON RELIABILITY OF SPACE LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEM

Life scientists at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, FL,

began the Agency's most realistic ground test to date on
plants that will produce food and oxygen for long-duration
space missions.

During the experiment, researchers from NASA and Dynamac

Corp., FL, will evaluate the ability of 128 potato plants and
6,500 wheat seeds to produce food and oxygen, purify water
and recycle waste products. The landmark study, part of
NASA's development of a Controlled Ecological Life Support
System, is scheduled for a full year and could last up to
three years. This experiment marks the first time two crop
species have been grown simultaneously in Kennedy's Biomass
Production Chamber (BPC).

"We recently completed a study with potatoes that lasted

about 14 months," explained NASA agricultural engineer John
Sager. �If we plan to live in space though, we must
determine if this system will be as successful over longer
periods of time.�

Through photosynthesis, the wheat and potatoes will

produce food, distilled water and oxygen, while removing
carbon dioxide from the air. Gradually, researchers will
introduce plant and human waste streams from a �bioreactor�
to the BPC, and through transpiration the plants will remove
and use nutrients from the waste effluent. �In effect,
plants may be the air and water filters of the space age,�
said Ray Wheeler, NASA plant physiologist.

The BPC, a retrofitted test chamber, has an interior

composed of two plant chambers. A hydroponics system is used
to supply the plants with nutrients and water. Tanks outside
the chamber store the water and nutrient solution and special
lamps provide artificial sunlight. The controlled
environment imitates the confined and resource deficient
conditions of space.

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Scientists have been using the chamber since 1987,

observing a variety of crops including soybeans, lettuce,
tomatoes, white potatoes and wheat. This study focuses on
wheat and potato production because of their high
productivity and performance in previous trials.
 "We hope to see the same positive results and high
yields in this study that we have seen in the preceding
studies," said Dynamic plant physiologist Gary Stutte. �This
research brings us one step closer to supporting life in
space for extended periods.�

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