Plant growth using EMCS hardware on the ISS.
Under separate contracts with ESA (FUMO and ERM Study) and as a link in the development of the European Modular Cultivation System's (EMCS) functionality and biocompatibility, plant studies have been performed at The Plant Biocentre in Trondheim, Norway. The main goal was to test whether the breadboards containing the major components planned for use in the EMCS would be optimal for space experiments with plant material. The test plans and the experimental set-up for the verification of biocompatibility and biological functionality included the use of a few model plant species including cress (Lepidium sativum L.) and Arabidopsis thaliana. The plants were tested at different developmental levels of morphological and physiological complexity (illumination, life support, humidity control, water supply, observation, short- and long-term plant growth experiments and contamination prevention). Results from the tests show that the EMCS concept is useful for long duration plant growth on the ISS.
The Plant Biocentre, Department of Botany, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway. Tor-Henning.Iversen@chembio.ntnu.no
Tor-Henning
TH
Iversen
Knut R
KR
Fossum
Hakon
H
Svare
Anders
A
Johnsson
Peter
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Schiller