Application of Non-Rectangular Hyperbola Model to the Lettuce and Beet Crops

Long term manned missions such as a moon base or a trip to Mars will need a life support system with a high degree of closure. Such a life support system will therefore need to be based at least partially on bio-regenerative technologies. Higher plants will very likely be part of this system due to their ability to produce food, clean water, and regenerate the atmosphere. Due to the complexity of these systems, tools for optimization and control are required. In the framework of MELiSSA [1], where a predictive control strategy is foreseen for the different compartments of the loop, the knowledge of a first principles based model for plant growth is mandatory.

The objectives of this paper are the implementation on EcosimPro [2] of a first principles model for photosynthesis at leaf level [3], the extension to canopy level with the help of an empirical light interception model [3], and finally a comparison of the final canopy model to experimental results obtained in the University of Guelph from single cultures of two MELiSSA candidate crops: beet and lettuce.