Month: May 2023

Crew 281 GreenHab Report 19 May 2023
GreenHab Officer: Megan Kane
Environmental control: mixed door open/ door open with fan
Average temperatures: 89.7 °F
Hours of supplemental light: None
Daily water usage for crops: 2.25 gallons
Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 1.59 gallons
Water in Blue Tank 168.51 gallons
Time(s) of watering for crops:
0700: refilled 7 water bottle (3.5 L) watered other plants as needed 2 L
1830: refilled 1 water bottle (500 mL) watered other plants as needed 2 L
Changes to crops:
Several of the tomatoes that had shown stress on Sol 0 have shed a few of the leaves that showed stress at the time. Their appearance had remained similar (chlorosis with purple veins and necrotic spots) for the past several days prior to abscision. New growth on all plants looks to be green and in good health.
Cucumbers are closer to being ready to harvest. There are 3 cucumbers and more flowers that may become cucumbers.
Narrative:
In the morning the GreenHab was checked and watered as required. Initial temperature was 71.4 degrees Fahrenheit at at 41 % humidity. Humidity remained above 10 % throughout the day. The cooler temperature and increased humidity seems to have cheered up the plants. While the greenhab made it up to 105 degrees, it did not stay there long due to the afternoon storm.
The watering experiment is going well.
The experimental cooling setup which uses a cloth with water seems to be helping a little with the temperature and humidity, espcially at night when the building can be closed, however we will know more in the next couple of days. The surface area for evaporation and amount of available water is limited but, with more matierials, we could potentially try and keep the temperature under 100 degrees Fahrenheit and increase humidity so that stomata can open to allow photosynthesis. The prototype passively evaporated 1 liter of water and was not refilled until evening. Tomorrow checks will be done earlier in the day to verify water level over time.
Harvest: (include which crop and mass in grams):
Lettuce 34
Rocket(Arugula) 1
Micro greens 8
Support/supplies needed: None

Crew 281 GreenHab Report 18 May 2023
GreenHab Officer: Megan Kane
Environmental control: mixed door open/ door open with fan
Average temperatures: 92.4 °F
Hours of supplemental light: None
Daily water usage for crops: 1.45 gallons
Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 0.4 gallons
Water in Blue Tank 172.34 gallons
Time(s) of watering for crops:
0834: refilled 2 water bottle (1 L) watered other plants as needed 1.5 L
1230: refilled 1 water bottle (500 mL) watered other plants as needed 1 L
Changes to crops: None
Narrative:
In the morning the GreenHab was checked and watered as required. Initial temperature was 90.8 degrees Fahrenheit dropping to only 86.9 degrees after the door was propped open. Air was stagnant. As per instructions the fan was not turned on.
Mission control was sent a request to permit working on ideas to cool the GreenHab with the goal of extending the greenhouse operations into the summer weather. This was granted and we began working to improve the airflow. We were able to generate a passive cross breeze in the GreenHab. Supplemental airflow was utilized during the midday peak heat of 105 °F and turned off when the clouds came back.
Utilizing several measurements in the GreenHab and referencing a psychrometric chart, we started the calculations to see if an alternative form of evaporative cooling could be constructed. We did a few tests with materials available to see which would be best for creating an adhoc cooling system. Further work will be done on this tomorrow. The goal being to always keep the GreenHab under 100 degrees. The temperature varied from 86 to 105 degrees Fahrenheit. It is noted that it is hottest in the morning and noon time frame due to the additional shade provided by the hab in the late afternoon.
Harvest: (include which crop and mass in grams): None
Support/supplies needed: None

Crew 281 GreenHab Report 17 May 2023
GreenHab Officer: Megan Kane
Environmental control: fan with door open
Average temperatures: 90.38
Hours of supplemental light: None
Daily water usage for crops: 1.72 gallons
Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: NA
Water in Blue Tank 174.19 gallons
Time(s) of watering for crops:
0800: refilled 8 water bottle (4 L) watered other plants as needed 1.5 L
1505: refilled 1 water bottle (500 mL) watered other plants as needed 500 mL
Changes to crops:
Average temperature was the highest it has been since we started. The highest tomato leaves dropped a little during the hottest part of the day but there is no sign of wilting. The plants are in good condition.
Narrative:
In the morning the greenhab was checked and watered as required. For plants without a passive watering system, a dowel rod was used to perforate the soil crust in 1-3 places per planter to allow the water to get down to the roots more efficiently and reduce evaporation.
The morning was a bit hazy and the temperature during the initial test of the airflow diverter went well. However once the haze dissipated the interior quickly rose in temperature. Opening the door after the test had a slight effect. The Crew Engineer and Greenhab officer looked at the evaporative cooling system to see if it could be utilized as we have entered the time of year and weather conditions where it would be effective. It was determined that we would need to reach out to mission control and that setup would likely require an EVA.
This afternoon ingredients for making a marinara sauce were harvested.
There is concern about the lack of humidity in the greenhab and the increasing temperatures.
Harvest: (include which crop and mass in grams)
Tomatoes 514
Basil 1
Sage 1
Chives 7
Oregano 1
Thyme 1
Support/supplies needed:
We request additional information on evaporative cooler including:
· Make and model
· Date last used
· Status when last used (operational or broken)
· Method of connecting the system to a water supply and which one.