Nasa designs inflatable greenhouses for use on manned missions to the Moon and Mars

Nasa has designed inflatable greenhouses for use in manned missions to the Moon and Mars. The prototypes Nasa has built on Earth are designed to be deployable on demand, and are meant to use water found on Mars and Moon for growing crops. At the same time, the plants will consume the carbon dioxide produced by the pioneering spacefarers.The greenhouses will grow crops for the early explorers and at the same time clean the air they breathe, forming a critical component of the life support system. The greenhouses are also meant to play a role in water recycling as well as waste disposal in a process known as a "bioregenerative life support system".[caption id="attachment_373333" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Image: Nasa.[/caption]The prototypes are cylindrical structures about five and a half metres long and two and a half metres in diameter, and built by the Sadler Machine Company. To protect the plants from the radiation in space, the greenhouses are likely to be buried below the surface of the Moon and the Mars. There would be a requirement of specialised lighting in this case. The Veggie systems on board the International Space Station already grow crops in space and use a purplish lighting made via a combination of red and blue Leds. The combination is used as they provide the most useable light in comparison to alternatives.[caption id="attachment_363394" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Astronaut Peggy Whitson with the Veggie facility on board the ISS.[/caption]Nasa is also testing the viability of hybrid crops in both natural and artificial lighting. Bundles of fibre optic cables could be used to transfer solar light from the surface to the subsurface greenhouses, with the use of light concentrators that track the Sun. Dr. Gene Giacomelli, director of the Controlled Environment Agriculture Center at the University of Arizona says, "We're mimicking what the plants would have if they were on Earth and make use of these processes for life support. The entire system of the lunar greenhouse does represent, in a small way, the biological systems that are here on Earth."[caption id="attachment_373335" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Image: Nasa.[/caption]Nasa is planning a manned mission to Mars, where the first pioneers will have to find ways to live off the land or use the locally available resources. It is not possible to carry from Earth all the necessary materials for a long term mission. The plans include 3D printed shelters for the spacemen and a trash reactor to convert the waste generated by the expedition into useful elements. On the Moon, Nasa wants to build at least a semi-permanent base that will act as a gateway to voyages into the deeper reaches of the solar system.