ROOM
51
Astronautics
Increases in the T-value, an index of overall air
impurity on the ISS, did not affect the productivity
of the mizuna plant. The average amount of
aerophilous microorganisms corresponded to the
normal amounts recommended for nutrition with
crews that remain on the ISS for up to 360 days.
A super-dwarf wheat growing experiment for
the full vegetation cycle in the two chambers of the
Lada greenhouse showed that the plants developed
normal sprouts, heads and seeds.
With these results we now know that it is
possible to grow leafy green vegetables and
biologically viable and normal wheat seeds
in a greenhouse on board the ISS that do not
significantly differ from their Earth-grown
counterparts. This data will be of great interest
for projects dealing with the creation of working
greenhouses that can become part of life support
systems for future space crews.
The authors would like to extend their thanks to Gail E. Bingham and
their other American colleagues for all the years of our successful
cooperation, and would also like to thank Russian cosmonauts and
astronauts for their wonderful camera work while recording the in-
flight experiments on Mir and the ISS.
Building on success
The first plant experiments conducted in the Svet
greenhouse onboard Mir showed that spaceflight
does not seriously impact fundamental biological
processes such as growth, development, seeding,
photosynthesis and metabolic activity. The results of
research on higher plants in weightlessness made it
possible to integrate greenhouses in spacecraft with
the use of technology for cultivating higher plants in
zero-gravity environments, as part of the spacecraft
life support systems.
Overall, this series of experiments was very
successful but a lot remained unknown, such as how
plants would behave during long-term cultivation
in space and if their genetic make-up would
subsequently change.
In order to continue our plant experiments on
the ISS, our Russo-American team built a new
greenhouse called ‘Lada’. Many thought the name
was chosen after, Lada, the Slavic goddess of
marriage, love, home and harvest but the truth was
much more down-to-earth.
Work on the future space greenhouse began in
the spring of 1999 with very little financing, very
little time, very limited space on the ISS and an
energy allowance of only 60 watts for all lights and
supporting mechanisms. So, rather than opt for a
complex and sophisticated ‘Rolls Royce’ greenhouse,
we decided to build a simple, yet reliable one – like
the Russian ‘Lada’ car!
Thanks to our invaluable experience with Svet, we
were able to build and get certification for Lada very
quickly and in October 2002, the first experiment in
cultivating mizuna (a type of mustard greens) began.
Between October 2002 and November 2011,
17 experiments were conducted in the Lada
greenhouse aboard the ISS, including experiments
with mizuna, radishes, two genetically marked types
of dwarf peas, two types of barley and super-dwarf
wheat and there were some interesting results.
In each of these experiments the plants grown in
space showed the same characteristics and speed
of development as those in the control group on
Earth. The pea plants retained their reproductive
function and formed viable seeds during four full
consecutive in-flight ‘seed to seed’ cycles. Genetic
analysis gave serious weight to the hypothesis that
the plants’ genetic makeup does not change over a
few generations growth on the ISS.
Microbiological research on the mizuna plants
showed a lack of disease-causing microorganisms
on mizuna leaves in spaceflight and analysis of the
dietary characteristics showed that space-grown
mizuna biomass conforms to food safety and
nutritional content standards.
It’s a special
sort of task
– to be a
gardener, to
live together
with your
plants
Top: Roman Romanenko
with some of his mizuna
plants.
Above: Super-dwarf
wheat grown by Maksim
Surayev.
