Exploring differential gene correlations in Arabidopsis thaliana for sustainable space farming

Use of lunar regolith as a substrate for plant growth

This chapter discusses two aspects of controlled-environment crop production in a lunar colony. First, it reports findings about the effects of optimal aerial and root-zone environments on plant growth. Second, liquid hydroponic systems are compared with lunar regolith as substrates for plant growth. Control of the root-zone environment is as important as the foliar environment. Although hydroponic culture is widely used to grow high-input specialty crops on the Earth, the vast majority of the world food supply is grown in field soil. Large amounts of food will be required to support a lunar colony, and it has been suggested that the lunar regolith could be modified to provide a better root-zone environment than flowing hydroponic systems.

Extraterrestrial Soils and Space Agriculture

Aloha Space Age:NASA and the Hawaiian Islands, 1957—1970 David A. Smith (bio) I have been part of that generation so inspired by the space program. Nineteen sixty-one was the year of my birth, the year that Kennedy made his announcement. And one of my earliest memories is sitting on my grandfather's shoulders, waving a flag as astronauts arrived in Hawai'i. For me, the space program has always captured an essential part of what it means to be an American: reaching for new heights, stretching beyond what previously did not seem possible. And so as President, I believe that space exploration is ... an essential part of that quest. —US President Barack Obama, 2010 1 When scholars and the general public recall the early years of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) space pro-gram, from Project Mercury through Project Apollo, the Cape and Kennedy Space Center in Florida and Manned Space Flight Center in Houston are the two earthbound locales that usually first come to mind. 2 Over the years, historians have also turned their attention to other sites outside of southeast Texas and Florida's space coast that played significant roles in space exploration. 3 One region that has [End Page 1] been almost universally overlooked by academic and popular authors alike, however, has been the State of Hawai'i, which became the fiftieth state just one year after NASA was established in November 1958. While the world's premier and perhaps most controversial astronomical site at Mauna Kea on the island of Hawai'i has been the subject of several studies (including one in this journal 4 ), the stories of the Hawaiian Islands' engagement with the movement of people to and from space and the Moon, including residents' responses to the Space Age, have not been told. From NASA's formative years through the early 1970s, the Hawaiian Islands played important and colorful roles in space exploration. On the island of Kaua'i, the Kōke'e tracking station was an integral part of the agency's tracking and communications network for the early human space flights that made up the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs. O'ahu was the first port of call for astronauts returning from the Moon. The island of Hawai'i became the first choice for astronaut geology training and other lunar space-related activities. There were other significant, if less tangible, connections as well. From the aftermath of the Soviet Union's launch of Sputnik I through the dramatic return of the Apollo 13 astronauts in 1970, most, if not all, of Hawai'i's residents, local press, politicians, celebrities, schools, and cultural institutions consistently embraced space travel programs and related activities with a sense of enthusiasm and "great aloha" (especially in terms of greetings for returning astronauts) with a participation rate far out of proportion to Hawai'i's small population. A variety of schemes for space launch centers and facilities, related exhibition and educational programs, and spontaneous celebrations of NASA successes seemed to be everywhere in Hawai'i during the 1960s. Examining the Hawaiian Islands' engagement and welcome of these NASA initiatives fills an existing void in the literature and provides a window, from a mid-Pacific perspective, into understanding why the space program experienced the highest level of public approval of all major US federal initiatives during this era. 5 Rockets, Missiles, and Moonports Most scholars accept that the Space Age began when the Soviet Union launched the world's first man-made satellite, Sputnik, on October 4, 1957. [End Page 2] The United States quickly took notice and began focusing more attention on its own fledgling space initiatives. In the post-war period, the US Congress was alarmed by the perceived Soviet threat to America's security and to its now questionable lead in world technology. As historian Andreas Reichstein contends: "The reaction of the American people to the successful launch of Sputnik . . . has been compared to the one after Pearl Harbor." 6 Troubled O'ahu residents once again looked to the skies and, in November, reported spotting the companion rocket to the Soviet's "first artificial 'moon'" as it...

Since the beginning of space exploration, outer space has fascinated, captivated and intrigued people’s mind. The launch of the first artificial satellite—Sputnik—in 1957 by the Soviet Union, and the first man on the Moon in 1969 represent two significant missions in the space exploration history. In 1972, Apollo 17 marked the last human program on the lunar surface. Nevertheless, several robotic spacecrafts traveled to the Moon such as the Soviet Luna 24 in 1976 or more recently China’s Chang’e 4 in 2019 which touched down on its far side, the first time for a space vehicle. The international space community is currently assessing a return to the Moon in 2024 and even beyond in the coming decades, toward the Red Planet, Mars. Robots and rovers, for instance, Curiosity, Philae, Rosetta or Perseverance, will continue to play a major role in space exploration by paving the way for future long-duration missions on celestial bodies. Landing humans on the Moon, Mars, or on other celestial bodies, needs robotics because there are significant challenges to overcome from technological and physiological perspectives. Therefore, the support of machines and artificial intelligence is essential for developing future deep space programs as well as to reach a sustainable space exploration. One can imagine future circumstances where robots and humans are collaborating together on the Moon’s surface or on celestial bodies to undertake scientific research, to extract and to analyze space resources for a possible in situ utilization, as well as to build sites for human habitation and work. Indeed, different situations can be considered: (a) a robot, located on a celestial body, operated by a human on Earth or aboard a space station; (b) the in situ operation of a robot by an astronaut; (c) the interaction between a robot in outer space, manipulated from Earth and an astronaut; (d) the interaction between a robot operated from space and an astronaut; (e) the interaction between a robot with an artificial intelligence component and an astronaut; (f) the interaction between two robots in the case of on-orbit servicing. The principles of free exploration and cooperation are two core concepts in the international space legal framework. Hence, it is necessary to analyse the provisions on the five United Nations space treaties in the context of “human-robotic” cooperation. In addition, the development of a Code of Conduct for space exploration, involving humans and robots, might be needed in order to clearly identify the missions using robotic systems (e.g., mission’s purpose, area of operations) and to foresee scenarios of responsibility and liability in case of damage. Lastly, a review of the dispute settlement mechanisms is particularly relevant as international claims related to human–robot activities will inevitably occur given the fact that their collaboration will increase as more missions are being planned on celestial bodies.

Non-Governmental Organizations importance and future role in Space Exploration

The American Space Exploration Narrative from the Cold War Through the Obama Administration

HYDROPONIC CUCUMBER PRODUCTION USING URETHANE FOAM AS A GROWTH SUBSTRATE

Painting Starlight - Novel Use of Space in Art

The future of space exploration is defined by a close partnership between intelligent autonomous robots and humans. These robots serve as extensions in space which do tasks in dangerous or harsh environments where direct human participation is impossible. In recent years, researchers, commercial firms and space organizations have made considerable advances in the creation of autonomous and remotely controlled space robots. These robots serve an important role in space exploration, assisting people on the International Space Station (ISS) and exploring distant celestial bodies. These robots require highly developed tele-operation interfaces and HMI designs to bridge the knowledge gap between human competency and machine execution. This chapter provides a thorough analysis of the dynamic interactions between intelligent autonomous robots and humans. It also offers insights for space agencies, academics, engineers and everyone else interested in the fascinating field of space technology and exploration which lays out a vision for the future of autonomous systems and space robots.

Microbial products containing bacteria (Cedomon [Pseudomonas chlororaphis MA342, PC-MA342], Mycostop [Streptomyces sp. K61, SG-K61], Proradix®Agro [Pseudomonas sp. DSMZ13134, PS-DSMZ13134]) and fungi (Clonotry [Trichoderma harzianum and Clonostachys rosea, TH+CR], Remedier [T. asperellum ICC012 and T. gamsii ICC080, TA-ICC012+TG-ICC080], Rootshield WP [T. harzianum T22, TH-T22]) were tested for efficacy against Fusarium solani f. sp. cucurbitae race 1 (FSC7 strain) on zucchini. They were applied to seeds (S), plant growth substrate (PGS) and both (S+PGS) in a growth chamber experiment, and to PGS, transplantation soil mixture (TSM) and both (PGS+TSM) in a greenhouse experiment. FSC7 was inoculated in PGS at sowing time in the growth chamber and in TSM at transplant in the greenhouse. In the growth chamber, the most effective products
\nwere Cedomon (S and S+PGS treatments), Rootshield (PGS treatment) and Proradix (S+PGS treatment), reducing the disease by 39.7, 43.1, 25.8 and 36.4%, respectively. In the greenhouse, all tested products applied to PGS reduced the disease severity and more markedly when applied to PGS+TSM. In the PGS and PGS+TSM treatments, Cedomon was the most effective product showing a disease decrease by 42.4 and 59.5%, respectively. The data obtained in vivo were consistent with the ability of the antagonists to colonize zucchini rhizosphere and with their inhibitory effects on the growth of the pathogen in in vitro assays. The bacteria caused the greatest growth inhibition of FSC7 showing abnormal morphology, while Trichoderma spp. parasitized FSC7 hyphae. Bacteria were the most active in reducing pathogen colony growth through antibiotic metabolites. All antagonists produced exo and endochitinase enzymes. Trichoderma strains showed greater levels of β-N-acetylhexosaminidase and endochitinase, whereas SG-K61 was the most active producer of chitin 1,4-β-chitobiosidase. These results indicate that the studied bioproducts have potential for an effective management of zucchini Fusarium foot and root rot through rhizosphere competence and several mechanisms exerted by their microbial ingredients.

Modeling gravity effects on water retention and gas transport characteristics in plant growth substrates

A significant challenge in establishing sustainable human settlements on the Moon lies in cultivating food within extraterrestrial environments. Lunar regolith, the Moon’s surface material, is composed of rock fragments, minerals, and volcanic glass, and poses substantial limitations for plant growth due to its lack of essential nutrients. This study employs statistical regression analysis to evaluate the correlation and impact of microbial additives and nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium (N-P-K) fertilizers on the growth of bush bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) seeds in a lunar soil simulant. The microbial additive used, TPS Plant Foods Billions of Microbes, contains five strains of Bacillus bacteria, four strains of mycorrhizae, and one strain of Trichoderma. The fertilizer applied was Fruit & Bloom Booster NPK 2-15-15. Bush beans were chosen for their rapid germination, resilience to temperature fluctuations, and disease resistance. Specific regression analyses were conducted to assess the individual and combined effects of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and microbial inputs on plant growth. The results demonstrated that both TPS Billions and nitrogen significantly enhanced plant growth, as evidenced by a 500–2000% increase in number of leaves and leaf area in the 60% lunar soil mixture. These findings suggest that targeted microbial and nitrogen-based amendments can effectively support plant cultivation in lunar regolith, offering valuable insights for future lunar agricultural systems and long-term human habitation.

The extent to which plants can enhance human life support on other worlds depends on the ability of plants to thrive in extraterrestrial environments using in-situ resources. Using samples from Apollo 11, 12, and 17, we show that the terrestrial plant Arabidopsis thaliana germinates and grows in diverse lunar regoliths. However, our results show that growth is challenging; the lunar regolith plants were slow to develop and many showed severe stress morphologies. Moreover, all plants grown in lunar soils differentially expressed genes indicating ionic stresses, similar to plant reactions to salt, metal and reactive oxygen species. Therefore, although in situ lunar regoliths can be useful for plant production in lunar habitats, they are not benign substrates. The interaction between plants and lunar regolith will need to be further elucidated, and likely mitigated, to best enable efficient use of lunar regolith for life support within lunar stations.

BackgroundAt the 2022 meeting of the American Society for Bioethics and Medical Humanities, a new affinity group was formed: astrobioethics. This is the branch of bioethics for space exploration, extraterrestrial environments and possible extraterrestrial organisms. Bioethics has traditionally operated from Western/Global North dominated thought structures and it is difficult to introduce alternative frameworks. However, astrobioethics is forming and is primed to include alternative frameworks, such as pre-Columbian Indigenous American philosophy/ethics and Global South frameworks and knowledge.MethodsThe methods utilized include Indigenous research methodologies and standpoint, an overview of Indigenous American philosophy/ethics, and reflection on how this may impact astrobioethical considerations of space exploration.Discussion and ConclusionsIndigenous philosophies and ethics consider space exploration and its associated risks and impacts on potential extraterrestrial lifeforms, systems and environments. The nuances of using terms like ‘colonization’ are considered and the paper concludes by considering how Méxica philosophical concepts and the four main Indigenous pragmatic dimensions can interact with established bioethical principles to guide future space exploration.