Nitrogen dynamics in the CELSS Breadboard facility at Kennedy Space Center

Area of Science:

• Space exploration
• Bioregenerative life support systems
• Plant science

Background:

• The Breadboard Project at Kennedy Space Center has investigated crop plants for long-duration space missions.
• Nitrogen (N) is a critical nutrient for plant growth and is central to nutrient balance studies in controlled environments.
• Understanding nitrogen cycling is essential for sustainable life support systems in space.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the feasibility of using crop plants in bioregenerative life support systems.
• To quantify nitrogen utilization and losses in crop production systems for space missions.
• To evaluate the impact of continuous crop production on life support functions, specifically nitrogen balance.

Main Methods:

• Calculated nitrogen budgets from experimental data to quantify nutrient utilization and losses.
• Conducted a 418-day potato crop study utilizing recycled nutrient solutions.
• Investigated strategies for recycling nitrogen through biological techniques, including microbial bioreactors for biomass degradation.

Main Results:

• Continuous production systems are beneficial for maintaining nitrogen balance due to variable crop uptake rates.
• Nitrogen recovery efficiency depends on the form of nitrogen entering bioreactors and the desired output.
• Aerobic and anaerobic bioreactors are being developed to recover and transform nitrogen from waste streams for plant use.

Conclusions:

• Crop plants can be effectively integrated into bioregenerative life support systems for long-duration space missions.
• Continuous production and biological nitrogen recycling are key strategies for sustainable space agriculture.
• Further development of bioreactor technologies is necessary for efficient nitrogen recovery and nutrient management in space.