The first micro-vegetable garden in orbit to grow vegetables in space is made in Italy

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The first micro-vegetable garden in orbit to grow vegetables in space is made in Italy.

A micro-garden 6 thousand km from the Earth to grow fresh vegetables for future space exploration. It is called GREENCUBE, it is designed by an all-Italian scientific team and will be contained for the first time on board a mini satellite that will be launched on the occasion of the inaugural flight of the official VEGA-C carrier of the European Space Agency (ESA).

The prototype in whose realization participate ENEA, University Federico II of Naples and Sapienza University of Rome, in the role of coordinator and holder of an agreement with the Italian Space Agency (ASI), measuring 30 x 10 x 10 cm and is based on closed-loop hydroponic crops able to guarantee a complete cycle of growth of microvegetables for the 20 days of testing, selected from those most suitable to withstand extreme extraterrestrial conditions.

The project is part of the ENEA mission to transfer to industry and public.

Administrations the results of scientific research in a perspective of sustainable economic development, in this case through skills, infrastructure and professionalism matured in the cultivation in closed and confined environments of fresh vegetables for industrial use and in extreme environments, such as space, emphasizes Luca Nardi, researcher of the Biotechnology Laboratory ENEA. The in-orbit cultivation system will maximise efficiency in terms of both volume and energy consumption, air, water and nutrients and during the mission will be accompanied by experiments of cultivation on the ground in special rooms to be able to verify the effects on plants as well as radiation of low pressure and microgravity, adds Nardi.

Housed in a pressurized and confined environment, the micro-garden.

GREENCUBE will be equipped with an integrated system of hi-tech sensors for monitoring and control of environmental parameters, growth and health of plants, and will be designed to transmit to the ground, in total autonomy, all the information acquired, thus giving the opportunity to researchers to evaluate the response of plants to the conditions of extreme stress.

The comparison between the results of experiments obtained in space and on the ground will be crucial to assess the growth of microvegetables in orbit and be able to use them as a fresh and highly nutritious food in future missions, concludes Nardi.

Regarding Sapienza, highlights Fabio.

Santoni project coordinator, GREENCUBE is part of the development of a series of university nanosatellites, developed to meet the growing need for rapid and economic access to space by the scientific community. Currently our Laboratory has in orbit other two satellites and it is realizing others two in the within of other initiatives. The GREENCUBE mission will allow us to further develop our technological capabilities, allowing us to try in orbit of new systems.