Biomass Production Chamber is the project created by NASA which aims to grow plants in space by making use of chambers.
The BPC project aims to make use of capsules able to resist radioactive transmissions, spatial environments and gravity, to create spaces devoted exclusively for the growing of plants outside Earth, generating not only food for astronauts, but also oxygen from the photosynthesis and water from plant transpiration.
These space laboratories would have the ability to control the environment inside them and recreate the photosynthesis with LED technology, allowing plants to grow in a microgravity environment.
NASA already has a prototype capsule and some small experiments have been carried out in the International Space Station.
One of the main challenges, according to the scientist, is the cost involved.
"The truth is I don't know when this might become a reality; we are talking about billions of dollars needed for its implementation," said Stutte.
Regarding when the project will actually be implemented, the expert declined to specify a date, stating that much depends on the decisions of managers of spatial and government agencies in other countries.
"The decision is political; it does not depend on NASA, but on mankind. It is a decision that has to be made by the countries involved in space exploration with the capacity to make investments," added the researcher.
The experiment conducted in the International Space Station lasted 73 days and produced a total of eight crops and plant tissues of over 300 plants.
NASA's site outlines that the implementation of this project would ensure the provision of the food needed by a crew during a long-duration mission to Mars. The total cost of the mission would also not increase.
This is just the first step towards NASA's main goal: to allow the development of life on other planets, and not just on Mars or the Moon.
Source: elfinanciero.com.mx
