Advanced System for Growing Plants in Microgravity

The figure depicts the Biomass Production System (BPS), which is an advanced system that provides controlled conditions for growing, manipulating, sampling, and harvesting plants in microgravity for both commercial purposes and scientific research. The design of the BPS incorporates lessons learned from the operation of prior plantgrowth systems aboard spacecraft in flight. Examples of uses for the BPS include (1) metabolic experiments that can include photosynthesis, respiration, and transpiration; (2) biotechnological plant investigations; and (3) side-by-side comparison of multiple plant-growth techniques and conditions. Plant biomass is easily accessible during all phases of operation.