Eat fresh vegetables It is good not only for the body but also for the psyche. This is well known when talking about earthly foods such as salad, tomatoes and carrots that they stimulate the view with their bright colors. But what happens when this need moves into space, where it is impossible to carry adequate supplies of fresh vegetables?
In the International Space Station (ISS), the challenge is even greater. This is not just a transportation issue, but also a storage issue. For face this issue, many space companies, both European and American, are experimenting with innovative solutions. Among these, a new Italian protagonist stands out, Space V. Founded in Genoa And Turin by a group of engineers and researchers, Space V includes among its members Frank Malerba, the first Italian to travel into space in 1992.
Technological innovations to support space cultivation
The goal of Space V is to develop a greenhouse prototype that can operate in orbital conditions. Recently financed by the fund Galaxiathe startup is approaching realize a cultivation system that promises to revolutionize the approach to agricultural production in space.
Space V’s contribution to space research is notable: they designed a adaptive multi-storey greenhouse. This greenhouse is not a simple one structurebut a technologically advanced cabinet, full of sensors and software that manage every aspect of microenvironment of each shelf. This allows you to optimize space, water and light for each type of cultivated vegetable, adapting to the different growth stages of the plants.
Franco Malerba explains:
“With this technology, we don’t waste resources on newly seeded plants, but we can dedicate more space and resources to those that are completing their cycle.”
Not only this process optimize cultivation but it makes the space greenhouse extremely efficient and low-power energetic.
Growing Vegetables in Space: Future impacts and benefits
Vegetables and fruit, which currently are supplied to astronauts in dehydrated form, they could therefore to be grown fresh directly in orbit. This would change drastically the quality of the space diet, providing fresh food that is not only nutritious but also more pleasant to consume, a non- negligible both for the astronauts than for future space tourists.
The application of technologies developed for space also has the potential to improve life on Earth. Advances in space often find terrestrial applications, improving the quality and efficiency of devices and systems also in our daily lives.
How do you think the technologies developed for the space cultivation can influence the our life on Earth?
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