Plant Growth In Space Research Articles

Ion-Exchanged Clinoptilolite as a Substrate for Space Farming

Clinoptilolite, with its structural peculiarities (ion-exchange and adsorbent properties), is an excellent candidate for direct use and various modifications. In this study, we explored the effect of ion exchange and the particle size of clinoptilolite on Raphanus sativus seed germination, plant growth, physiological and biochemical characteristics of plants. Plants were grown, for three consecutive runs, on non-modified clinoptilolite, 0.9–2.5 mm (C-2.5) and 2.5–5.0 mm (C-5.0); clinoptilolite fractions modified with ion exchange with ammonium (CNH4-2.5 and CNH4-5.0); and potassium (CK-2.5 and CK-5.0) ions. Our data revealed that ion exchange with ammonium increased water-holding capacity, while potassium exchange decreased the water-holding capacity of the substrates irrespective of their particle size. The positive effect of small fractions ion-exchanged clinoptilolite (CNH4-2.5 and CK-2.5) on seed germination, during the third run, was established. The small clinoptilolite fractions favored root crop production, particularly in CK-2.5 plants only during the first run. Substantial positive effect on the content of total carbohydrates and polyphenols especially during the third run was established in plants grown on potassium-exchanged clinoptilolite. Our findings support the future exploration of clinoptilolite as a suitable substrate for plant growth in space and ground-based facilities for space-oriented experiments.

Effects of gamma radiation on engineered tomato biofortified for space agriculture by morphometry and fluorescence-based indices.

Future long-term space missions will focus to the solar system exploration, with the Moon and Mars as leading goals. Plant cultivation will provide fresh food as a healthy supplement to astronauts' diet in confined and unhealthy outposts. Ionizing radiation (IR) are a main hazard in outer space for their capacity to generate oxidative stress and DNA damage. IR is a crucial issue not only for human survival, but also for plant development and related value-added fresh food harvest. To this end, efforts to figure out how biofortification of plants with antioxidant metabolites (such as anthocyanins) may contribute to improve their performances in space outposts are needed. MicroTom plants genetically engineered to express the Petunia hybrida PhAN4 gene, restoring the biosynthesis of anthocyanins in tomato, were used. Seeds and plants from wild type and engineered lines AN4-M and AN4-P2 were exposed to IR doses that they may experience during a long-term space mission, simulated through the administration of gamma radiation. Plant response was continuously evaluated along life cycle by a non-disturbing/non-destructive monitoring of biometric and multiparametric fluorescence-based indices at both phenotypic and phenological levels, and indirectly measuring changes occurring at the primary and secondary metabolism level. Responses to gamma radiation were influenced by the phenological stage, dose and genotype. Wild type and engineered plants did not complete a seed-to-seed cycle under the exceptional condition of 30 Gy absorbed dose, but were able to cope with 0.5 and 5 Gy producing fruits and vital seeds. In particular, the AN4-M seeds and plants showed advantages over wild type: negligible variation of fluorimetric parameters related to primary metabolism, no alteration or improvement of yield traits at maturity while maintaining smaller habitus than wild type, biosynthesis of anthocyanins and maintained levels of these compounds compared to non-irradiated controls of the same age. These findings may be useful in understanding phenotypic effects of IR on plant growth in space, and lead to the exploitation of new breeding efforts to optimize plant performances to develop appropriate ideotypes for future long-term space exploration extending the potential of plants to serve as high-value product source.

Eustress in Space: Opportunities for Plant Stressors Beyond the Earth Ecosystem

Human space exploration cannot occur without reliable provision of nutritious and palatable food to sustain physical and mental well-being. This ultimately will depend upon efficient production of food in space, with on-site manufacturing on space stations or the future human colonies on celestial bodies. Extraterrestrial environments are by their nature foreign, and exposure to various kinds of plant stressors likely cannot be avoided. But this also offers opportunities to rethink food production as a whole. We are used to the boundaries of the Earth ecosystem such as its standard temperature range, oxygen and carbon dioxide concentrations, plus diel cycles of light, and we are unfamiliar with liberating ourselves from those boundaries. However, space research, performed both in true outer space and with mimicked space conditions on Earth, can help explore plant growth from its ‘first principles’. In this sense, this perspective paper aims to highlight fundamental opportunities for plant growth in space, with a new perspective on the subject. Conditions in space are evidently demanding for plant growth, and this produces “stress”. Yet, this stress can be seen as positive or negative. With the positive view, we discuss whether plant production systems could proactively leverage stresses instead of always combatting against them. With an engineering view, we focus, in particular, on the opportunities associated with radiation exposure (visible light, UV, gamma, cosmic). Rather than adapting Earth conditions into space, we advocate on rethinking the whole issue; we propose there are opportunities to exploit space conditions, commonly seen as threats, to benefit space farming.

Оценка морфофизиологических характеристик салата Lactuca sativa L. после воздействия условий моделируемого космического полета

A number of morphophysiological parameters of the candidate crop Lactuca sativa L. for growing in space after influence of the combined action of proton irradiation and clinostating were assessed. It was found that the effect of simulated space conditions reduces the surface area of leaf blades, the mass of roots and shoots of lettuce plants, was not change the number of true leaves. After 20 days of cultivation of L. sativa after irradiation and clinostating, the values of the parameters of the length of shoots, roots, and chlorophyll fluorescence were at the level of control plants. The results obtained contribute to the development of space crop production. Key words: GROWING PLANTS IN SPACE, SALAD CROPS, SOWED LETTUCE, IRRADIATION, PROTONS, STRESS, CLINOSTAT

Defense Priming in Okra using Chemically Defined Elicitors

Biotic and abiotic stresses pose a threat to the growth and yield of plants. With increasing population and decreasing viable land area, there is a dire need of stress-resistant crop plants. Bam-FX treatment provides a sustainable method of priming the immune systems of plants without the need of genetic modifications.
 Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) seeds and seedlings were treated with chemically defined elicitors -Bam-FX solutions of different concentrations to assess its effect on seed germination and plantlet morphological growth. The gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS) and High resolution liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HR-LCMS/MS) were used to assess various metabolites in treated samples. We also treated some seeds with fungus (Aspergillus sp. 100 cfu/mL) or organic acids to assess the priming effect in seeds.
 We observed that, of the four Bam-FX concentrations initially selected, Bam-FX dilutions of 1:175, 1:250, 1:500 were most effective in inducing the most optimal seed germination and morphological growth of the seedlings. Bam-FX treatment led to most marked upregulation of carboxylic acid and fumaric acid in both Okra seeds and seedlings. The fungal infection seemed to exhibit synergistic effect against Bam-FX treatment. The treatment with organic acids seemed to induce certain metabolites, such as carbamic acid, phenylboronic acid, anthranilic acid, etc., that were not otherwise induced in the non-Bam-FX-treated samples. Bam-FX, though originally designed for optimal plant growth in space, exhibited a high potential in priming the defense mechanisms of Okra against abiotic stresses.

Crew time in a space greenhouse using data from analog missions and Veggie

Crew time requirements for human space exploration missions is as critical as mass, energy, and volume requirements. However, it has only been sporadically recorded in past analog and space missions for plant cultivation. In this retrospective study on crew time data collected in various analog facilities and on the Veggie hardware on ISS, we propose a methodology for efficient categorizing and reporting of crew time in space plant growth systems. Crew time is difficult to capture in operational environments, and this study intends to harmonize these efforts among different locations. This article also provides a current database for required crew time in several plant growth hardware and facilities, on the ISS, and on Earth. These data could serve mission planners as a baseline to establish standardized activities and extrapolate crew time needed to operate future plant growth units. Finally, we discuss how crew time needed for plant cultivation will change in future exploration missions, based on choices made for plant species, watering systems, level of automation, and use of virtual assistants, among others. Crew time will need to be accounted for as a decisive factor to design future space greenhouse modules.

Evolutionary layout design synthesis of an autonomous greenhouse using product-related dependencies

AbstractThe development of autonomous greenhouses has caught the interest of many researchers and industrial considering their potential of offering an optimal environment for the growth of high-quality crops with minimum resources. Since an autonomous greenhouse is a mechatronic system, the consideration of its subsystem (e.g. heating systems) and component (e.g. actuators and sensors) interactions early in the design phase can ease the product development process. Indeed, this consideration could shorten the design process, reduce the number of redesign loops, and improve the performance of the overall mechatronic system. In the case of a greenhouse, it would lead to a higher quality of the crops and a better management of resources. In this work, the layout design of a general autonomous greenhouse is translated into an optimization problem statement while considering product-related dependencies. Then, a genetic algorithm is used to carry out the optimization of the layout design. The methodology is applied to the design of a fully autonomous greenhouse (45 cm × 30 cm × 30 cm) for the growth of plants in space. Although some objectives are conflictual, the developed algorithm proposes a compromise to obtain a near-optimal feasible layout design. The algorithm was also able to optimize the volume of components (occupied space) while considering the energy consumption and the overall mass. Their respective summed values are 2844.32 cm3, which represents 7% of the total volume, 5.86 W, and 655.8 g.

Plants culture in space environment for feeding food to the space travelers

Differential growth responses of plants to gravity know as gravitropism, the geotropic plants were familiar to humans by the nature of their use. However, the plants can grow successfully in low gravitational force, microgravity and no gravity too. This is the most important aspect of science in this era to focus on the supply of dietary food as live healthy greens to the space-travelling astronauts during prolonged spaceflight. Hence, the space culture aided to provide food in spacecraft. The effort to grow the agricultural or horticultural plants in space has limited success so far. In this view, the devising of technology has worth pursuing to prepare of space activities, with potential low, microgravity or no gravity aspects in the closed space plant growth system with the nutrient release arrangement. However, the plant-like lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower, amaranths, radish, turnip, endive, Swiss chard, dandelion, New Zealand spinach and other vegetables were underway evaluation for their suitability to the space culture.

Space explorers need to be space farmers: What we know and what we need to know about plant growth in space

Space exploration will require life support systems, in which plants can provide nutrients, oxygen, moisture, and psychological well-being and eliminate wastes. In alien environments, plants must adapt to a different gravity force, even the zero gravity of spaceflight. Under these conditions, essential cellular and molecular features related to plant development are altered and changes in gene expression occur. In lunar gravity, the effects are comparable to microgravity, while the gravity of Mars produces milder alterations. Nevertheless, it has been possible to develop and reproduce plants in space. Current research seeks to identify signals replacing gravity for driving plant growth, such as light. Counteracting gravitational stress will help in enabling agriculture in extraterrestrial habitats.

Urine nitrification with a synthetic microbial community

During long-term extra-terrestrial missions, food is limited and waste is generated. By recycling valuable nutrients from this waste via regenerative life support systems, food can be produced in space. Astronauts’ urine can, for instance, be nitrified by micro-organisms into a liquid nitrate fertilizer for plant growth in space. Due to stringent conditions in space, microbial communities need to be be defined (gnotobiotic); therefore, synthetic rather than mixed microbial communities are preferred. For urine nitrification, synthetic communities face challenges, such as from salinity, ureolysis, and organics.In this study, a synthetic microbial community containing an AOB (Nitrosomonas europaea), NOB (Nitrobacter winogradskyi), and three ureolytic heterotrophs (Pseudomonas fluorescens, Acidovorax delafieldii, and Delftia acidovorans) was compiled and evaluated for these challenges. In reactor 1, salt adaptation of the ammonium-fed AOB and NOB co-culture was possible up to 45mScm−1, which resembled undiluted nitrified urine, while maintaining a 44±10mgNH4+–NL−1d−1 removal rate. In reactor 2, the nitrifiers and ureolytic heterotrophs were fed with urine and achieved a 15±6mg NO3−–NL−1d−1 production rate for 1% and 10% synthetic and fresh real urine, respectively. Batch activity tests with this community using fresh real urine even reached 29±3mgNL−1d−1. Organics removal in the reactor (69±15%) should be optimized to generate a nitrate fertilizer for future space applications.

Growth of red pak choi under red and blue, supplemented white, and artificial sunlight provided by LEDs

To explore lighting strategies for crop production in space, we investigated the impacts of light spectrum on morphology, biomass, and phytonutrients of red pak choi (Brassica rapa var. chinensis, ‘Rubi F1’) over a 28-day cycle. Light treatments were white light-emitting diodes (WLEDs) as a control, W + red (WR), W + green switched to red at 21 days (WG–R), W + far-red (WFR), red and blue (RB), and an LED-based artificial sunlight research module (ASRM). The photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) was maintained near 180 μmol m−2·s-1 for all light treatments. Our results indicated that red pak choi grown under a narrow spectrum of RB light was most suitable for leaf expansion, biomass yield, and relative anthocyanin accumulation. The various broad-spectrum WLED treatments reduced yield, leaf area, and anthocyanin content. Supplemental G and FR augmented the reduction of growth and phytonutrients, however chlorophyll and anthocyanin levels recovered to levels comparable to the control within 7 days of switching WG to WR. The ASRM was used to assess direct sunlight as an alternative lighting option for plant growth in space. ASRM increased overall yield and specific leaf weight compared to WLED and supplemental treatments, and was similar to plants grown under RB in terms of fresh/dry weight, but lower in phytonutrients. Our results suggest both narrow and broad-band light sources can be used to manipulate morphology, phytonutrients, and partitioning of biomass in red pak choi.

LED lighting optimization as applied to a vitamin space plant growth facility

An algorithm of determining optimal LED lighting parameters for leafy crops (Chinese cabbage Brassica chinensis L. was taken as a model) in a vitamin space Plant Growth Facility is proposed. The lighting parameters to optimize were the level of photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD), red and white LEDs PPFD ratio and pulse repetition period with a fixed pulse length 30 µs. Optimal lighting parameters should allow achieving a high biomass yield per consumed light energy, as well as high vitamin C content in the crop biomass. A quantitative optimality criterion for estimating the lighting parameters quality is suggested. For Chinese cabbage crop the maximum value of this criterion was obtained at the following lighting conditions parameters: PPFD – 500 μmol m−2 s−1, red/white ratio – 1.5, and pulse repetition period – 501 µs.

Developing a technique to enhance durability of fibrous ion-exchange resin substrate for space greenhouses

One way to cut consumables for space plant growth facilities (PGF) with artificial soil in the form of fibrous ion-exchange resin substrate (FIERS) is on-board regeneration of the used medium. After crop harvest the procedure includes removal of the roots from the fibrous media with preservation of the exchanger properties and capillary structure. One type of FIERS, namely BIONA-V3ۛ, has been used in Russian prototypes of space conveyors. We describe a two-stage treatment of BIONA-V3ۛ including primary microwave heating of the used FIERS until (90 ± 5) °C in alkali-peroxide solution during 3.5 hrs. The second stage of the treatment is decomposition of root vestiges inside pores of BIONA-V3ۛ by using thermophilic and mesophilic anaerobic bacteria Clostridium thermocellum, Clostridium cellulolyticum and Cellulosilyticum lentocellum during 7–10 days at 55 °C. The two-stage procedure allows extraction of 90% dead roots from the FIERS’ pores and the preservation of root zone hydro-physical properties. A posterior enrichment of the FIERS by minerals makes BIONA- V3ۛ reusable.

Human Assisted Robotic Vehicle Studies - A conceptual end-to-end mission architecture

With current space exploration roadmaps indicating the Moon as a proving ground on the way to human exploration of Mars, it is clear that human-robotic partnerships will play a key role for successful future human space missions. This paper details a conceptual end-to-end architecture for an exploration mission in cis-lunar space with a focus on human-robot interactions, called Human Assisted Robotic Vehicle Studies (HARVeSt). HARVeSt will build on knowledge of plant growth in space gained from experiments on-board the ISS and test the first growth of plants on the Moon. A planned deep space habitat will be utilised as the base of operations for human-robotic elements of the mission. The mission will serve as a technology demonstrator not only for autonomous tele-operations in cis-lunar space but also for key enabling technologies for future human surface missions. The successful approach of the ISS will be built on in this mission with international cooperation. Mission assets such as a modular rover will allow for an extendable mission and to scout and prepare the area for the start of an international Moon Village.

Optimizing LED lighting for space plant growth unit: Joint effects of photon flux density, red to white ratios and intermittent light pulses

The aim of this work were to choose a quantitative optimality criterion for estimating the quality of plant LED lighting regimes inside space greenhouses and to construct regression models of crop productivity and the optimality criterion depending on the level of photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD), the proportion of the red component in the light spectrum and the duration of the duty cycle (Chinese cabbage Brassica сhinensis L. as an example). The properties of the obtained models were described in the context of predicting crop dry weight and the optimality criterion behavior when varying plant lighting parameters. Results of the fractional 3-factor experiment demonstrated the share of the PPFD level participation in the crop dry weight accumulation was 84.4% at almost any combination of other lighting parameters, but when PPFD value increased up to 500µmol m−2s−1 the pulse light and supplemental light from red LEDs could additionally increase crop productivity. Analysis of the optimality criterion response to variation of lighting parameters showed that the maximum coordinates were the following: PPFD = 500µmol m−2s−1, about 70%-proportion of the red component of the light spectrum (PPFDLEDred/PPFDLEDwhite = 1.5) and the duty cycle with a period of 501µs. Thus, LED crop lighting with these parameters was optimal for achieving high crop productivity and for efficient use of energy in the given range of lighting parameter values.

Plant’s response to space environment: a comprehensive review including mechanistic modelling for future space gardeners

The study of higher plant growth in space started in the 1950s both on the Russian and the American sides. The first experiments were intended to assess whether plants could grow outside Earth and to determine what differences there were between spaceflight-grown and Earth-grown plants. As plant-growth hardware started to adapt to spaceflight, more opportunities for plant experiments in space became available. Direct microgravity effects started being differentiated from confinement effects and Earth orbit started to become a laboratory where plants could be grown without the influence of Earth gravity. Experiments have shown that, with adapted ventilation, plant growth in space is similar to plant growth on Earth in 1 g, except for some morphological traits. However, only small-scale experiments on plant growth were performed in Earth orbit, which provided insufficient data on crop yield for reduced gravity environments. Challenges remain to grow plants in space, in terms of nutrient delivery, lighting and ventilation, but also on the choice of plant species and traits to favour. Additionally, significant effort must be made on mechanistic modelling of plant growth to reach a more thorough understanding of the intricate and combined physical, biochemical, and morphological phenomena involved, which is necessary to accurately control and predict plant growth in life-support systems. This review intends to list the main spaceflight effects to take into account for plant growth in space, as well as to give an overview of the current state of plant-growth hardware while stressing the challenges associated with their development.

Biochemical, photosynthetic and productive parameters of Chinese cabbage grown under blue–red LED assembly designed for space agriculture

Currently light emitting diodes (LEDs) are considered to be most preferable source for space plant growth facilities. We performed a complex study of growth and photosynthesis in Chinese cabbage plants (Brassica chinensis L.) grown with continuous LED lighting based on red (650nm) and blue (470nm) LEDs with a red to blue photon ratio of 7:1. Plants grown with high-pressure sodium (HPS) lamps were used as a control. PPF levels used were about 100μmol/(m2s) (PPF 100) and nearly 400μmol/(m2s) (PPF 400). One group of plants was grown with PPF 100 and transferred to PPF 400 at the age of 12days. Plants were studied at the age of 15 and 28days (harvest age); some plants were left to naturally end their life cycle. We studied a number of parameters reflecting different stages of photosynthesis: photosynthetic pigment content; chlorophyll fluorescence parameters (photosystem II quantum yield, photochemical and non-photochemical chlorophyll fluorescence quenching); electron transport rate, proton gradient on thylakoid membranes (ΔpH), and photophosphorylation rate in isolated chloroplasts. We also tested parameters reflecting plant growth and productivity: shoot and root fresh and dry weight, sugar content and ascorbic acid content in shoots. Our results had shown that at PPF 100, plants grown with LEDs did not differ from control plants in shoot fresh weight, but showed substantial differences in photophosphorylation rate and sugar content. Differences observed in plants grown with PPF 100 become more pronounced in plants grown with PPF 400. Most parameters characterizing the plant photosynthetic performance, such as photosynthetic pigment content, electron transport rate, and ΔpH did not react strongly to light spectrum. Photophosphorylation rate differed strongly in plants grown with different spectrum and PPF level, but did not always reflect final plant yield. Results of the present work suggest that narrow-band LED lighting caused changes in Chinese cabbage plants on levels of the photosynthetic apparatus and the whole plant, concerning its development and adaptation to a varying PPF level.

Response of Phaseolus vulgaris L. plants to low-let ionizing radiation: Growth and oxidative stress

The scenarios for the long-term habitation of space platforms and planetary stations involve plants as fundamental part of Bioregenerative Life Support Systems (BLSS) to support the crew needs. Several constraints may limit plant growth in space: among them ionizing radiation is recognized to severely affect plant cell at morphological, physiological and biochemical level. In this work, plants of Phaseolus vulgaris L. were subjected to four different doses of X-rays (0.3, 10, 50 and 100Gy) in order to assess the effects of ionizing radiation on this species and to analyze possible mechanisms carried out to overcome the radiation injuries. The effects of X-rays on plant growth were assessed by measuring stem elongation, number of internodes and leaf dry weight. The integrity of photosynthetic apparatus was evaluated by photosynthetic pigment composition and ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase (Rubisco) activity, whereas changes in total antioxidant pool and glutathione S transferase activity (GST) were utilized as markers of oxidative stress. The distribution of phenolic compounds in leaf tissues as natural shielding against radiation was also determined.Irradiation of plants at 0.3 and 10Gy did not determine differences in all considered parameters as compared to control. On the contrary, at 50 and 100Gy a reduction of plant growth and a decrease in photosynthetic pigment content, as well as an increase in phenolic compounds and a decrease in total antioxidant content and GST activity were found. Only a slight reduction of Rubisco activity in leaves irradiated at 50 and 100Gy was found. The overall results indicate P. vulgaris as a species with a good potential to face ionizing radiation and suggest its suitability for utilization in BLSSs.

Plant experiments with light-emitting diode module in Svet space greenhouse

Light is necessary for photosynthesis and shoot orientation in the space plant growth facilities. Light modules (LM) must provide sufficient photosynthetic photon flux for optimal efficiency of photosynthetic processes and also meet the constraints for power, volume and mass. A new LM for Svet space greenhouse using Cree® XLamp® 7090 XR light-emitting diodes (LEDs) was developed. Monochromic LEDs emitting in the red, green, and blue regions of the spectrum were used. The LED-LM contains 36 LED spots – 30 LED spots with one red, green and blue LED and 6 LED spots with three red LEDs. Digital Multiplex Control Unit controls the LED spots and can set 231 levels of light intensity thus achieving Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density (PPFD) in the range 0–400 μmol m −2 s −1 and different percentages of the red, green and blue light, depending on the experimental objectives. Two one-month experiments with plants – lettuce and radicchio were carried out at 400 μmol m −2 s −1 PPFD (high light – HL) and 220 μmol m −2 s −1 PPFD (low light – LL) and 70% red, 20% green and 10% blue light composition. To evaluate the efficiency of photosynthesis, in vivo modulated chlorophyll fluorescence was measured by Pulse Amplitude Modulation (PAM) fluorometer on leaf discs and the following parameters: effective quantum yield of Photosystem II ( Φ PSII) and non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) were calculated. Both lettuce and radicchio plants grown at LL express higher photochemical activity of Photosystem II (PSII) than HL grown plants, evaluated by Φ PSII. Accelerated rise in NPQ in both LL grown plants was observed, while steady state NPQ values were higher in LL grown lettuce plants and did not differ in LL and HL grown radicchio plants. The extent of photoinhibition process in both plants was evaluated by changes in malonedialdehyde (MDA) concentration, peroxidase (POX) activity and hydrogen peroxide (H 2O 2) content. Accumulation of high levels of MDA and increased POX activity correlating with decreased H 2O 2 content were observed in both HL grown plants. These biochemical indicators revealed higher sensitivity to photodamage in HL grown lettuce and radicchio plants. LL conditions resulted in more effective functioning of PSII than HL when lettuce and radicchio plants were grown at 70% red, 20% green and 10% blue light composition.

A cylindrical salad growth facility with a light-emitting diodes unit as a component for biological life support system for space crews

Efficiency of salad production under light-emitting diodes was tested with a prototype space plant growth facility “Phytocycle SD” with a 10-step crop conveyer. The system has a plant chamber in the form of a spiral cylinder. The planting unit inside the chamber is built of 10 root modules which provide a co-axial planting cylinder that rotates relative to the leaf chamber. Twelve panels of the lighting unit on the internal surfaces of the spiral cylinder carry 438 red (660 nm) and 88 blue (470 nm) light-emitting diodes producing average PPF equal 360 μmol m −2 s −1 4 cm below the light source, and 3 panels producing PPF equal 190 μmol m −2 s −1 at the initial steps of the plant conveyer. The system requires 0.44 kW and provides a plant chamber volume of 0.19 m 3, with 0.86 m 2 illuminated crop area. Productive efficiency of the facility was studied in a series of laboratory experiments with celery cabbage ( Brassica pekinensis) ( Lour) ( Rupr.) grown in the conveyer with a one-step period of 3 days. The crop grew in a fiber ion-exchange mineral-rich soil BIONA V3 under the 24-h light. Maximal productivity of the ripe (30-day-old) plants reached 700 g of the fresh edible biomass from one root module. There was a 30% greater biomass production and 3–5 times greater specific productivity per unit of expenditure of consumable resources over plants grown in a flat planting. This improved production was due to the extension of illuminated crop area for the final conveyor steps and concentration of photon flux toward center axis of cylindrical growth chamber. Biomass contents of ascorbic acid and carotene gathered from one root module per day ranged from 250 to 300 mg and 30 to 40 mg respectively. With this productivity, celery cabbage raised in “Phytocycle SD” potentially can satisfy the daily demands in vitamin C, vitamin A for a crew of three. Wider nutritional needs can be satisfied by planting mixed salad crops.