Category: Greenhab Report

Crew 188 Sol 7 Green Hab Report 05FEB2018

Zac Trolley (Engineer), Guest writing for Julia De Marines (Crew Astronomer/GreenHab Officer)

05 February 2018

Environmental control: Heating

Ambient with door opening: Shade cloth on

Working hours in Green Hab: 11:00 – 11:30, 18:00 – 19:00

Outside temp at working hour: 17ºC

Inside temp at working hour: 25ºC

Inside temp H: 35ºC

Inside temp L: 14ºC

Inside humidity: 27 %

Inside humidity H: 79%

Inside humidity L: 18%

Hours of supplemental light: 05:00 – 9:59

Changes to the crops: The plants are following a predictable pattern of requiring sun and water, and producing green leaves. As the plants increase in size, we have been harvesting various parts of them to eat in our kitchen. On this 8th Sol, we dined on lettuce leaves and tasty herbs.

Daily water usage for crops: 48 litres

Time(s) of watering plants: 11:00 – 11:30 (16 litres), 18:00 – 19:00 (32 litres)

Changes to research plants: During an intensive research investigation it was discovered that one of the pillows in the VEGGIE OASYS experiment isn’t as wet as is desired. Further investigation is required in order to find the route cause of this discrepancy. The Executive Officer is working with the NASA PI in order to properly moisten the pillow.

Narrative: In order to better understand the needs and desires of the plants under our care, we have been closely monitoring their progress. We have been exploring alternative methods to increase plant yield, and have decided to ask the plants what they require to be at their maximum efficiency. To facilitate this, Zac Trolley and Sarah Jane Pell have undertaken an experimental procedure to breach the communication gap with the plants and create a dialogue with them directly. So far, our results are not promising.

Future needs and questions: We are awaiting the arrival of the tomato cages so we can replant the tall plants that require support to grow to their full potential. Please advise when they will arrive.

Crew 188 Sol 7 Green Hab Report 04FEB2018

Sarah Jane Pell (Artist in Residence), Guest writing for Julia De Marines (Crew Astronomer/GreenHab Officer)

04 February 2018

Environmental control: Heating

Ambient with door opening: Shade cloth on

Working hours in Green Hab: 11:00 – 11:30, 18:00 – 19:00

Outside temp at working hour: 16ºC

Inside temp at working hour: 25ºC

Inside temp H: 32ºC

Inside temp L: 14ºC

Inside humidity: 37 %

Inside humidity H: 82%

Inside humidity L: 19%

Hours of supplemental light: 06:00 – 9:59

Changes to the crops: A crop of lettuce and herbs was taken for lunch. [We made a healing elixir
and tincture in oil to heal our ravenous hunger and aching bodies.]

Daily water usage for crops: 48 litres

Time(s) of watering plants: 11:00 – 11:30 (16 litres), 18:00 – 19:00 (32 litres)

Changes to research plants: Still monitoring the quinoa for sprouting.

Narrative: Zac Trolley, Engineer dressed in his flight suit to tend to the crops, while I filmed the entire GreenHab scene in 360 6K full 3D. I am now working on audio samples from the plants, to prepare an accompanying score for the first in our suite of immersive VR experiences.

Future needs and questions: We are awaiting the arrival of the tomato cages so we can replant the tall plants that require support to grow to their full potential. Please advise when they will arrive.

Dr. Sarah Jane Pell

TED Fellow 2010, Australia Council Fellow 2016, Gifted Citizen 2016

The ‘Performing Astronautics: following the Body’s Natural Edge into the Abyss of Space’ project is assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body http://www.artistastronaut.com

Artist, Occupational Diver, Keynote Speaker, Researcher, Simulation Astronaut http://www.sarahjanepell.com

Prepared by: Julia DeMarines
03/02/2018

Environmental control: Heating
Ambient with door opening: Shade cloth on

Working hours in Green Hab: 13:00 – 15:00, 19:00 – 20:00
Outside temp at working hour: -1ºC
Inside temp at working hour: 15ºC,
Inside temp H: 31ºC,
Inside temp L: 15ºC,
Inside humidity: 47 %
Inside humidity H: 47%
Inside humidity L: 16%

Hours of supplemental light: 06:00 – 09:59

Changes to the crops: N/A

Daily water usage for crops: 2 gallons midday; 10 gallons evening

Time(s) of watering plants: 13:00 – 15:00 (2 gallons), 19:00 – 20:00 (10 gallons)

Changes to research plants: N/A

Narrative: Both Julia and Zac were on EVA’s today at separate times and both spent time watering the plants, staggered. Upon persistent trials and errors, we have both noticed that the wilted plants are most likely due to requiring a midday watering, being dry from having the door open, and being in the southwestern-most corner (and getting very hot).

We will keep monitoring and testing out better methods to keep the temperature not too hot and not too cold. Today was a very windy day.

Future needs and questions: We need tomato cages before repotting as to not disturb them any more than necessary.

Summary of NASA VEGGIE OASYS: Renee added water to the wicks and the reservoir and took photos of germinating seeds for the PI.

[end]

Crew 188 Sol 5 Green Hab Report 02February2018

Zac Trolley, Crew Engineer, Guest writing for Julia De Marines (Crew Astronomer/GreenHab Officer)

02 February 2018

Environmental control: Heating

Ambient with door opening: Shade cloth on

Working hours in Green Hab: 09:00-09:30, 11:00 – 14:00, 18:00 – 19:00

Outside temp at working hour: 11ºC

Inside temp at working hour: 26ºC

Inside temp H: 34ºC

Inside temp L: 18ºC

Inside humidity: 35 %

Inside humidity H: 85%

Inside humidity L: 14%

Hours of supplemental light: 06:00 – 9:59

Changes to the crops: A row of lettuce was replanted from the small pot containers to a window style planter. A salad crop was taken for lunch.

Daily water usage for crops: 12 gallons

Time(s) of watering plants: 11:00 – 14:00 (2 gallons), 18:00 – 19:00 (10 gallons)

Changes to research plants: After an email from Atila, we will be monitoring the quinoa for sprouting.

Narrative: Renee was actively operating in the GreenHab monitoring her experiment. The NASA hardware that we have here at MDRS is a variation of flight hardware that has been on the ISS. I am continually in awe that I am taking part in research that has a direct impact on the future of spaceflight.

The Crew did a little re-potting of lettuce in the hopes that they will grow during our stay so that we can enjoy eating it. If not, future crews will enjoy the fruits of our labor, as we are enjoying the plants that other crews have planted for us.

Future needs and questions: We are awaiting the arrival of the tomato cages so we can replant the tall plants that require support to grow to their full potential. Please advise when they will arrive.

Crew 188 Sol 4 Green Hab Report 01February2018
Renee Garifi, Executive Officer, Guest writing for Julia De Marines (Crew Astronomer/GreenHab Officer) 01 February 2018
Environmental control: Heating
Ambient with door opening: Shade cloth on
Working hours in Green Hab: 09:00-09:30, 11:00 – 14:00, 18:00 – 19:00 Outside temp at working hour: 10ºC
Inside temp at working hour: 25ºC
Inside temp H: 35ºC
Inside temp L: 19ºC
Inside humidity: 47 %
Inside humidity H: 90%
Inside humidity L: 16%
Hours of supplemental light: 05:00 – 11:59
Changes to the crops: Rearranged and continued trimming back cucumber, tomato, and bean vines and stems. No harvesting today, will harvest tomorrow. Daily water usage for crops: 10 gallons
Time(s) of watering plants: 11:00 – 14:00 (5 gallons), 18:00 – 19:00 (5 gallons)
Changes to research plants: After an email from Atila, we will be monitoring the quinoa for sprouting.
Narrative: Julia showed Zac and I which plants to trim and move. We spent time working on the NASA VEGGIE OASYS plant growth prototype hardware which we have relocated to the west corner shelf of the GreenHab. We took photographs for the scientists at Kennedy Space Center. The final fill amounts for the reservoir chamber in the unit was 2200 mL of water and each seed pillow was filled with 100 mL of water to start. We will be growing Italian Basil and Salad Bar Lettuce. We were excited to share our progress with Julia when she returned from her EVA trek!

We spent some time trimming back the dead leaves on the plants on the west shelves and propping up some of the drooping tomato plants. I believe there is a plan to obtain more tomato cages which is needed for the high volume of tomato plants being grown.

Lastly, we moved the existing sun shade a little lower down to provide the plants in the middle and east sides of the GreenHab more relief from the direct sunlight.
Future needs and questions: Is there a plan for ordering an additional sun shade? We also need additional tomato cages. We received the gardening gloves. Thank you!!!

Crew 188 Sol 2 Green Hab Report 30JAN2018

Julia DeMarines

30/01/2018

Environmental control: Heating

Ambient with door opening: Shade cloth on

Working hours in Green Hab: 09:10 – 09:40, 18:45 – 19:25

Outside temp at working hour: __ , ___

Inside temp at working hour: 25ºC, (unclear for second round)

Inside temp H: 35ºC,

Inside temp L: 14ºC,

Inside humidity: 90 (I may have spilled water on the sensor which may explain why it has become more illegible)

Inside humidity H: 90%

Inside humidity L: 16%

Hours of supplemental light: 05:00 – 11:59

Changes to the crops: Moved more tomato and bean plants to blue container to allow for more light for blocked plants and for easier watering access. Trimmed back several cucumber, tomato, and bean vines and stems. Harvested the following: dill, sage, and beans.

Daily water usage for crops: 8 gallons

Time(s) of watering plants: 18:45 – 19:25

Changes to research plants: After an email from Atila, I will be monitoring the quinoa for sprouting.

Narrative: This morning around, just after 9 am, I checked on the plants and they most of them seem to be doing excellent with a few cucumber plants that have yellow and wilting leaves. I moved a few more plants from the wooden platform to the blue bin and began trimming back some of the excessive growth to lessen the vegetation and give more energy to the fruits. There is still some more re-organizing I would like to do to give equal light to some of the plants that were shaded out. In the evening I came back to find that the plants seemed a bit more wilted than in the morning. I might implement a mid-day watering to see if that fixes the problem, or perhaps add a 9th gallon to watering. It’s specifically the tomato plants that appear the most wilted. I also trimmed several of the yellow leaves off and will continue to do so.

Future needs and questions: Going to look for gardening gloves tomorrow – those cucumber stems have a bite! Where would be an appropriate location to place or dispose of trimmed vegetation?

Summary of new hardware set up in GreenHab:
Today our Executive Officer set up a prototype piece of NASA plant growth hardware called “OASYS” which will be utilized to test a new watering system ideal for reduced and microgravity environments. The experiment will utilize the east corner of the GreenHab and will be photographed daily as the plants grow. She took photographs of the hardware inventory and set up and transmitted back to the scientist at Kennedy Space Center.

The Orbital Aquifer System for VEGGIE was invented by NASA sceinetists at the Kennedy Space Center for passively watering plants in space. The team will be growing salad bar variety lettuce and Italian basil seeds in the hardware. These two plant types are quick to grow, easy to germinate from seeds and can be transferred to pots at the end of our mission for the following crews to enjoy with their dinner.

VEGGIE is an EXPRESS rack facility for growing plants on the International Space Station. NASA Johnson Space Center and Kennedy Space Center engineers designed and built a passive delivery system to water plants over time without the need for power or maintenance and minimal human interaction. The design employs capillary force to deliver water from a reservoir into the plant root zone. The new hardware is modeled after the VEGGIE Root Mat that is currently aboard ISS and solves several key issues that were seen during the first VEG-01 experiment.

Our Executive Officer will run this experiment with our Crew Engineer and Crew Astronomer/GreenHab Officer checking the germination daily and monitoring growth, recording light, temperature and humidity statistics and taking daily photographs for the scientist.

Prepared by: Julia DeMarines

Environmental control: Heating

Ambient with door opening: Shade cloth on

Working Hour: 19:00
Inside temp at working hour: 18° C
Outside temp during working hours: 1° C
Inside temperature high: 34 C
Inside temperature low: 16 C
Inside humidity: 23 %RH
Inside humidity high: 46 %RH
Inside humidity low: 15 %RH

Hours of supplemental light:
For the crops 05:00 to 11:59 PM

Changes to crops: moved some of the tomato plants and bean plants to the blue aquaponics container.

Daily water usage for crops: 8 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 19:00

Changes to research plants: Need more info about existing research plants.

Aquaponics: Crew 188 will not be attempting to assemble the aquaponics project.

Narrative: This is Julia’s first day as Green Hab officer. She watered the plants and removed some of them from the wooden platform and put them in the blue aquaponics container after recommendations from Shannon. She went through changes to the plants that Shannon would like to have done to the Green Hab and thought about a plan moving forward. Tomorrow she will begin implementing the plan and she looks forward to some redecorating.

The temperature sensor is still currently malfunctioning. The tens digit has missing sections. Julia would like to know if there is a certain time(s) that the temperature and humidity need to be measured daily and specific information on ongoing projects that Julia needs to maintain or monitor.

GreenHab Report

Hernán David Mateus Jiménez

26Jan2018

Environmental control:

Heating

Ambient with door opening

Shade cloth on

Working Hour: 19:00
Inside temp at working hour: 15° C
Outside temp during working hours: 1° C
Inside temperature high: 29° C
Inside temperature low: 14° C
Inside humidity: 49 %RH

Inside humidity high: 49 %RH
Inside humidity low: 16 %RH

Hours of supplemental light:

For the crops 05:00 to 11:59 PM

Changes to crops: none

Daily water usage for crops: 8 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 18:15

Changes to research plants: The plans of quinoa over the lysimeter are withered.

Aquaponics: Atila is assembling it. He is waiting for the amount of water to fill the tank, this is necessary to do the test.

Narrative: The last day simulation, I started disassembling the Lysimeter, Atila and I replanted 4 tomato plants in bigger pots and started to clean the greenhab.

In the afternoon, I realized that the first digit of the temperature on the screen of the sensor is not showing.

GreenHab Report

Hernán David Mateus Jiménez

25/01/2018

Environmental control:

Heating

Ambient with door opening

Shade cloth on

Working Hour: 18:00
Inside temp at working hour: 14° C
Outside temp during working hours: 5° C
Inside temperature high: 30° C
Inside temperature low: 14° C
Inside humidity: 88 %RH

Inside humidity high: 88 %RH
Inside humidity low: 31 %RH

Hours of supplemental light:

For the crops 05:00 to 11:59 PM

Changes to crops: none

Daily water usage for crops: 8 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 19:15

Changes to research plants: The plans of quinoa over the lysimeter are withered

Aquaponics: Atila is assembling it. He is waiting for the amount of water to fill the tank, this is necessary to do the test.

Narrative: none