NASA and the National Space Grant Foundation have selected the University of Miami College of Engineering (UM CoE) as one of 11 university teams that will design systems, concepts and technologies to potentially support the agency’s deep-space exploration.
NASA approved a CoE research project, entitled “Volume Optimization for Food Production During Deep Space Exploration,” for funding as part of the eXploration Systems and Habitation (X-Hab) 2020 Academic Innovation Challenge. Led by Victoria Coverstone, professor and chair of the CoE Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, students will optimize available volume for food production and define the food production volume requirements for deep space missions. They will develop and analyze viable solutions and provide a functional prototype.
Crew members on long duration-missions of three to five years must have a fresh, healthy diet to provide them the necessary nutrients and calories during their journey. It is noted that during a plant’s growth cycle, the volume needed to produce food changes, specifically, when growing corn or tomatoes.
“The students are tasked with designing and building a fault-tolerant system that supports the production of food but that minimizes the size, mass, energy needs and crew member time,” Coverstone explained. “The plant life support system must be reusable and must create the appropriate lighting conditions with water, nutrient and air flow delivery selected to maximize food production per unit volume.”
X-Hab teams will develop their proposed systems and structures into functional prototypes during the 2019-2020 academic year. As part of the process, they will complete engineering design reviews and provide project status briefings to NASA. In May, the students will present final prototypes for evaluation by the agency.
“The X-Hab challenge enables NASA to gain innovative approaches from university teams in concert with NASA expertise,” said John Guidi, deputy director for Advanced Exploration Systems at NASA. “In return, the students are learning genuine hardware and systems engineering development processes that will carry over into their professional careers.”
Projects from other Universities, such as the University of Michigan, Ohio State University and Auburn University, selected for funding through this competitive process include proposals to advance 3D printing in space, optimize food production, develop user interfaces for autonomous operations and help to advance CO2 recovery processes.
Figure: Rack Concept for Food Production
The grants, up to $50,000 to each university team, were awarded through support from the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate and the Office of STEM Engagement Minority University Research and Education Program.
The X-Hab Academic Innovation Challenge supports NASA research efforts to enable sustained and affordable human and robotic space exploration, and demonstrates the agency’s commitment to developing the highly-skilled scientific, engineering and technical workforce of the future.
