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Advances in Space Research 44 (2009) 151–161

Canadian advanced life support capacities and future directions

M. Bamsey a,b,*, T. Graham a, M. Stasiak a, A. Berinstain a,b, A. Scott c,T. Rondeau Vuk a, M. Dixon a

a University of Guelph, Dept. of Environmental Biology, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, ON, Canada N1G 2W1b Canadian Space Agency, Space Science, 6767 route de l’aeroport, St-Hubert, QC, Canada J3Y 8Y9

c COM DEV Ltd., 303 Terry Fox Drive, Suite 100, Ottawa, ON, Canada K2K 3J1

Received 27 February 2009; received in revised form 26 March 2009; accepted 26 March 2009

Abstract

Canada began research on space-relevant biological life support systems in the early 1990s. Since that time Canadian capabilities havegrown tremendously, placing Canada among the emerging leaders in biological life support systems. The rapid growth of Canadian expertisehas been the result of several factors including a large and technically sophisticated greenhouse sector which successfully operates under chal-lenging climatic conditions, well planned technology transfer strategies between the academic and industrial sectors, and a strong emphasison international research collaborations. Recent activities such as Canada’s contribution of the Higher Plant Compartment of the EuropeanSpace Agency’s MELiSSA Pilot Plant and the remote operation of the Arthur Clarke Mars Greenhouse in the Canadian High Arctic con-tinue to demonstrate Canadian capabilities with direct applicability to advanced life support systems. There is also a significant latent poten-tial within Canadian institutions and organizations with respect to directly applicable advanced life support technologies. These directlyapplicable research interests include such areas as horticultural management strategies (for candidate crops), growth media, food processing,water management, atmosphere management, energy management, waste management, imaging, environment sensors, thermal control,lighting systems, robotics, command and data handling, communications systems, structures, in-situ resource utilization, space analoguesand mission operations. With this background and in collaboration with the Canadian aerospace industry sector, a roadmap for future lifesupport contributions is presented here. This roadmap targets an objective of at least 50% food closure by 2050 (providing greater closure inoxygen, water recycling and carbon dioxide uptake). The Canadian advanced life support community has chosen to focus on lunar surfaceinfrastructure and not low Earth orbit or transit systems (i.e. microgravity applications). To advance the technical readiness for the proposedlunar missions, including a lunar plant growth lander, lunar ‘‘salad machine” (i.e. small scale plant production unit) and a full scale lunarplant production system, a suite of terrestrial developments and analogue systems are proposed. As has been successfully demonstrated bypast Canadian advanced life support activities, terrestrial technology transfer and the development of highly qualified personnel will serve askey outputs for Canadian advanced life support system research programs. This approach is designed to serve the Canadian greenhouseindustry by developing compliance measures for mitigating environmental impact, reducing labour and energy costs as well as improvingCanadian food security, safety and benefit northern/remote communities.Crown copyright � 2009 Published by Elsevier Ltd. on behalf of COSPAR. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Advanced life support; Biological life support; Greenhouse; Plant production; Space analogue

1. Introduction

Biological life support systems (BLSS) have been pro-posed for long duration space missions for decades (Myers,1954). The mission duration at which BLSS become more

0273-1177/$36.00 Crown copyright � 2009 Published by Elsevier Ltd. on beh

doi:10.1016/j.asr.2009.03.024

* Corresponding author.E-mail address: mbamsey@uoguelph.ca (M. Bamsey).

efficient than physical–chemical (PC) systems is debateablefrom an equivalent system mass (ESM) point of view(Barta and Henninger, 1994; Waters et al., 2003; Schwartz-kopf, 1992; Drysdale et al., 1999); however, BLSS will mostcertainly be required for any sustained human presence onthe Moon or Mars (NASA, 2004). ESM is an often usedtrade study metric allowing for the comparison of differentadvanced life support systems with varying mass, volume,

alf of COSPAR. All rights reserved.

152 M. Bamsey et al. / Advances in Space Research 44 (2009) 151–161

power, thermal and crew time requirements (Levri et al.,2003). The benefit of BLSS lies in their ability to provide,in a closed loop and regenerative system, the three pillarsof life-support, these being the provision of; (1) edible bio-mass, (2) atmospheric management (primarily CO2 andO2), and (3) potable water production. Canada has exper-tise and technical capacity in the broad spectrum of disci-plines required for the systematic implementation ofBLSS in future exploration missions. In addition to keyexpertise, Canadian institutions are home to a wide varietyof unique facilities that can be utilized to further developthe science and technologies required for the realizationof future space-based BLSS. Facilities encompass a rangeof technologies and test systems such as variable pressuregrowth chambers, specialized laboratories for bio-process-ing, remote Arctic greenhouses, and facilities for the devel-opment, testing and integration of space hardware.Canadian capabilities cover the breadth of expertise andtechnological capacity required to lead multidisciplinarymissions such as BLSS development for sustained humanplanetary presence. Canada’s life support expertise, thoughmost prominent in the biological life support domain, alsohas great capacity in the overall realm of advanced life sup-port (ALS) and thus will be described from this more inclu-sive perspective.

Canada’s greenhouse sector is a multi-billion dollarindustry, totalling 2.3 billion dollars (farm value) annually(Statistics Canada, 2007a,b) Canada’s cold climate necessi-tates that a significant proportion of its horticultural pro-duction must be conducted in greenhouses and othercontrolled environments (Statistics Canada, 2007a,b). Infact, Canadian greenhouse vegetable production is largerthan that of the United States of America (Ministry ofAgriculture, Food and Fisheries, 2003). Space-based ALSsystems benefit significantly from ground-based experiencein greenhouse production. Reciprocally, ALS systems haveand continue to demonstrate significant technology trans-fer to terrestrial greenhouse production. Much of theCanadian ALS research and investment has been builtupon the transfer of technology terrestrially. The technical‘‘pull” of space-based plant production systems for life sup-port applications has stimulated the development of suchterrestrial benefits as energy efficient and recyclable plantgrowth media, non-toxic residue disinfection systems basedon aqueous ozone, biofiltration of indoor air to mitigate‘‘sick building syndrome” and advanced containment andbiosecurity technologies just to highlight a few (Huberet al., 2005; Robinson et al., 2009; Darlington et al.,2001). Many of these technology developments are directlyrelevant to compliance requirements for recent legislationdesigned to mitigate the impact of the agri-food sector onthe environment. Other areas of promise include reductionsin labour and energy, improved environment monitoringcapabilities and improved horticultural management prac-tises. Continued work in this domain will also bring bene-fits encompassing such Canadian government priorities asnorthern communities and northern development (Office

of the Prime Minister, 2006), food safety and security(Office of the Prime Minister, 2008a,b), and the continueddevelopment of highly qualified personnel and industrialspin-offs.

This paper will provide a top level review of currentCanadian capabilities, including international collabora-tions, applicable to the development of ALS systems forlong-term human space exploration. It also proposes aroadmap for future ground-based and space-based Cana-dian ALS activities. All the various Canadian capabilitieswill need to be drawn upon to successfully follow the Cana-dian ALS roadmap proposed in this paper.

2. History of advanced life support system research in

Canada

Although several small scale and disparate Canadian-based research programs existed in what could be consid-ered the ALS domain prior to the 1990s, it was 1994 whenthe first specifically ALS driven investment occurred. Theinvestment came in the form of a joint federal government(Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council), pro-vincial government (Ontario Centres of Excellence) andprivate sector (Allied Signal Aerospace, greenhouse indus-try) sponsored grant. The respective agencies contributed$50 k each, for a total of $150 k per year for 5 years forwhat was then known as the Space and Advanced Life Sup-port Agriculture program (SALSA) at the University ofGuelph. This project developed and evaluated alternativelight distribution schemes, closed loop nutrient manage-ment systems, and atmosphere monitoring and manage-ment in some of the most tightly sealed ALS plantgrowth systems known at the time (Stasiak et al., 1998;Dixon et al., 1999). This investment initiated a life supportresearch focus at the University of Guelph, a focus that hassince evolved into the leading program of its kind in theworld with over $10 M in infrastructure investments (Can-ada Foundation for Innovation, Ontario Innovation Trust,Ontario Centres of Excellence) and an annual operatingbudget of almost $5 M. These grants provided for the con-struction of a suite of variable pressure growth chambersand the supporting analytical tools and laboratories. Sincethe achievement of these milestones, other organizationsactive in the plant biology, greenhouse and space sciencesectors have been incorporating aspects specific to BLSSinto their programs. Numerous Canadian institutions havenow picked up the ALS banner and in the process havemade Canada a major contributor to research and develop-ment in this field. Researchers at the University of Guelph’sControlled Environment Systems Research Facility (CES-RF), in association with industry partners, have recently(Nov, 2008) delivered the Higher Plant Compartment(HPC) component of the European Space Agency’s(ESA) Micro-Ecological Life Support System Alternative(MELiSSA) Pilot Plant in Barcelona, Spain. The CESRFalso serves as a venue for collaboration with researchersfrom NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre (KSC) investigating

M. Bamsey et al. / Advances in Space Research 44 (2009) 151–161 153

the effects of hypobaric environments on plant growth andlife support contributions. Canada, through the Universityof New Brunswick and Canadian Space Agency (CSA), isparticipating in the Advanced Plant Experiments on Orbit– Cambium (APEX-Cambium) investigation for launch tothe International Space Station. Canada is a foundingmember of the International Advanced Life SupportWorking Group (IALSWG) and assists in the coordinationof international ALS research collaborations.

On the national level, the CSA formed the AdvancedLife Support Discipline Working Group in 2007. In 2008an industry-university consortium led by COM DEV Ltd.was awarded a concept study grant to develop a roadmapfor Canadian contributions to the future development ofBLSS (study title: Roadmap for Canadian Advanced LifeSupport System – CanALSS). Collectively these activitiesdescribe a unique position for Canada and an opportunityto contribute in a significant way to future space-basedBLSS. Canadian capabilities relevant to ALS systems andresearch can be categorized into distinct areas as presentedin Table 1.

3. Current capabilities and research

Though the level of involvement varies considerablybetween capability area and institution, Table 2 presents

Table 1Categorized Canadian capabilities and expertise areas relevant to ALS researc

Area of expertise Capabilities

Horticultural management strategies (forcandidate crops)

Plant biology, horticultural managand characterization of candidate

Growth media Hydroponic production systems arequired to reduce resupply

Water management Crew water use requirements, planmanagement strategies and interfa

Atmosphere management Carbon dioxide and oxygen manareduced atmospheric pressure

Energy management Life support power systems, energWaste management Stabilizing and storing wastes(e.g.

latter missions would need to conFood processing Menu preparation, food preparati

optimized biomass utilizationImaging Assessment of plant health, feedba

harvesting)Environment sensors Plant growth environment sensorsThermal control Physical–chemical equipment requStructures Inflatable structures and/or space

planetary growth systemsLighting systems Plant lighting systems, inner canopRobotics Automating greenhouse functions

maintenance and harvesting of croCommand and data handling Computing hardware and softwar

control of the environment and ovCommunication systems Communications technology requ

systems and the associated groundIn-situ resource utilization Technologies and methods for the

support consumables (e.g. excavatSpace analogues Application of relevant space anal

systems, remote and harsh environMission operations Operation of analogue and space-

a matrix of known Canadian capabilities relevant to theALS system capability areas defined and compiled intothe distinct categories of university, government and spaceindustry.

As is evident in Table 2, Canadian ALS capability areasare distributed among academia, government and the spaceindustry. Table 2 does not provide clarification of specificexpertise, technical readiness or level of current involve-ment in the particular capability areas. It should also benoted that only universities, government departments andindustry working in the space or specifically the ALSdomain were considered in this review. Some notableobservations from this survey include:

� Canada has particularly strong expertise across univer-sity, government and the space based industry in imag-ing, environment sensors, robotics, command and datahandling and mission operations.� Canada has no known expertise in space-based fire

detection and suppression systems.� The Canadian space industry has yet to become heavily

involved in the plant and biological side of ALS, thoughthis will become a requirement for future BLSS.� Canada does possess expertise in all the required capa-

bilities areas necessary to be the lead developer forfuture BLSS.

h.

ement practises, plant-environment interactions as well as developmentcrops for future long duration missionsnd artificial growih media, recyclable and/or biodegradable media will be

t water use, water recovery, nutrient management, and overall watercesgement, biological control of trace gas contaminants, plant production at

y conservation and conversion, habitat/lander/bus power interfaceshuman solid waste, certain trash, inedible biomass, etc.) for early missions;sider resource recovery from wastes (e.g. nutrient recycling)on equipment and methods, food packaging, food preservation and

ck control data for horticultural robotic systems (e.g. seeding, pruning,

, nutrient solution ion sensorsired for the thermal control of space systemsstructures applicable to small scale plant growth landers or large scale

y light distribution with application to future space-based growth systemsfrom the initial phases of plant production (e.g. seeding through to theps) and final phases of production (e.g. sorting, packing, pre-processing)

e such as control algorithms, data storage and models required for theerall advanced life support system

ired for the transfer of data between remotely operating plant productioncontrol centresextraction and exploitation of planetary surface resources for human life

ion, drilling)ogue environments specific to the development of advanced life supportment deployment of advanced life support technologies

based robotic or human crewed platforms

Table 2Canadian advanced life support system capability matrix.

Capability area University Government Spaceindustry

Horticultural managementstrategies

X

Growth media XWater management X X XAtmosphere management X XEnergy management X XWaste management XFood processing XImaging X X XEnvironment sensors X X XThermal control X X XStructures X XLighting systems X XRobotics X X XCommand and data handling X X XCommunication systems X X XIn-situ resource utilization XSpace analogues X XMission operations X X X

154 M. Bamsey et al. / Advances in Space Research 44 (2009) 151–161

To capture a reasonable sample of the specific CanadianALS related projects, the sections to follow discuss projectsconducted by the University of Guelph and the CanadianSpace Agency, as these two institutions represent the largestdedicated ALS research programs in the Canadian ALScommunity.

4. University of Guelph

4.1. History

The CESRF, part of the University of Guelph OntarioAgricultural College, officially opened in 2001 but the pro-gram had its origins in 1994. The facility infrastructureinvestment amounts to approximately $10 M and the facilityhas an annual operating budget of $4–5 M. The facility wasestablished through the support of the Canada Foundationfor Innovation (CFI), Ontario Innovation Trust (OIT) andthe Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE). Ongoing opera-tional support is supplied by a variety of industry sources,

Fig. 1. Controlled Environment Systems Research Facility (CESRF) CanopySystem Alternative (MELiSSA) Higher Plant Compartment (Right).

the CSA and the OCE. The primary focus of the facility isto develop and evaluate plant based life support systems tosupport long duration human planetary presence, and togenerate terrestrial technology transfers applicable to Cana-dian industry (primarily greenhouse and agri-foodindustries).

4.2. Facilities

The CESRF is comprised of 20 sealed environment cham-bers including 14 variable pressure chambers (Fig. 1) (Cham-berlain et al., 2002). The custom plant growth chambersallow for studies of plant growth and development, photo-synthetic gas exchange, air quality and nutrient solution con-trol technologies under hypobaric conditions. CESRF alsoincludes a comprehensive suite of laboratory facilities foranalytical chemistry, microbiology and computer technolo-gies as well as several research grade greenhouses for largerscale field trials and production studies.

The facility also houses two large walk-in plant growthchambers, which are commonly used for production studiesaimed at determining mass balances and biomass productionunder different horticultural management practices. Thesechambers can monitor and control CO2 and O2 levels inaddition to standard environment control points (light, tem-perature, humidity). Furthermore, these chambers havebeen instrumental in the characterization and developmentof methods for controlling volatile organic compounds asso-ciated with plant production and system component off gas-sing. In-line gas chromatographs allow for the monitoring ofsystem critical VOC’s and trace hydrocarbons such as ethyl-ene, and other aromatic compounds (e.g. benzene) thatcould be problematic in a full scale ALS system. The CESRFalso has single plant chambers designed for photosynthesischaracterization (net carbon exchange rate, light saturationcurves etc) and radio labeling studies. Complementing allthese chambers are many controlled environment plantgrowth chambers ranging in size from a few plants capacityto full walk-in chambers.

Researchers at the CESRF led the development of theHPC for the MELiSSA Pilot Plant (Fig. 1). The MELiSSAproject is based upon an aquatic eco-system and is com-

scale Hypobaric Growth Chamber (Left) Micro-Ecological Life Support

M. Bamsey et al. / Advances in Space Research 44 (2009) 151–161 155

posed of interlinked compartments for food production,atmosphere revitalization, water recycling, and waste man-agement (Lasseur et al., 2005). The HPC prototype(recently installed) is a sealed system composed of a 5 m2

growth area, allowing for staged crop production withthe planting of seeds at one end of the compartment andthe harvest of full grown crops at the other (Waterset al., 2005). The first HPC was delivered to Barcelona,Spain for integration into the MELiSSA Pilot Plant in2008. CESRF researchers will soon be focused on the deliv-ery of additional HPC’s to other international partners col-laborating on the long-term food characterization studiesfor candidate crops. In addition, University of Guelph inpartnership with NASA-KSC and Dynamac Corp. haveconducted studies on the effects of reduced pressure onthe growth of a red-leaf cultivar of lettuce chosen for itshigh content of anthocyanin which may have a role inthe mitigation of radiation effects on the crew.

University of Guelph facilities also include the BoveyResearch Greenhouse Complex, the Science Complex Phy-totron and the Bioproducts Discovery and DevelopmentCentre. The Bovey Research Complex is the primary venuefor greenhouse related ALS research at the University andconsists of six large research wings.

5. Canadian space agency

5.1. History

The CSA has funded numerous industry, university andnon-profit organization projects with ties to ALS overrecent years through such programs as the ESA Auroraprogram (HPC), Exploration Core (concept studies) andthe Canadian Analogue Research Network (CARN).Additionally, CSA research specific to BLSS began in theSpace Science Branch in 2001. This was soon followed bythe construction of the Arthur Clarke Mars Greenhouse(ACMG) on Devon Island, Nunavut (75�260N, 89�520W)and the CSA Development Greenhouse at CSA Headquar-ters, St. Hubert, Quebec. BLSS research to date at CSA hasbeen primarily engineering focused and centred specificallyon autonomous greenhouse operations in harsh environ-

Fig. 2. (Left) Arthur Clarke Mars Greenhouse, Devo

ments. In 2006, the CSA initiated a research program toinvestigate environmental sensing technologies specific toplant production systems.

In addition to these BLSS specific activities, the CSA isactive in other research and technology developments thathave both direct and indirect linkages to ALS. In particu-lar, since 2002 CSA has been involved in a project focusingon the development of capillary heat pipe technology forspacecraft thermal control (Wang et al., 2008; Mishkiniset al., 2007). The CSA and its industrial partners are worldleaders in space robotics, automation and optics. ALS sys-tems will have an explicit need for robotics, automationand optical systems to realize their full potential and toreduce the mission duration at which they become practicalin terms of ESM. Specific CSA capacities related to ALSare imaging systems, autonomous robotics and groundoperations (e.g. of the Mobile Servicing System), automa-tion and robotics test-beds and simulation tools, advanceddesign for robotic systems and robotics training (Piedboeufand Dupuis, 2002).

5.2. Facilities

The ACMG (Fig. 2) is a BLSS test-bed developed to fur-ther the operational understanding of greenhouse produc-tion in an extreme environment (Giroux et al., 2006). Thegreenhouse operates autonomously throughout the year,with the only human on-site intervention being in Julywhen the crops are harvested and reseeded. The greenhousetelemetry systems transmit and receive data by way of ageostationary satellite link allowing for near-real timemonitoring and control, when required.

The Haughton-Mars Project ACMG shell was donatedby SpaceRef Interactive, Inc. and established at the pro-ject’s base camp (now Haughton-Mars Project ResearchStation) with initial sponsorship support from the OCEand NASA. The greenhouse facility is currently managedand operated by the Mars Institute, in partnership withthe SETI Institute and Simon Fraser University. AlainBerinstain of the CSA and the University of Guelph isthe current Principal Investigator in the ACMG. TheCSA, the University of Guelph, Simon Fraser University,

n Island (Right) CSA Development Greenhouse.

156 M. Bamsey et al. / Advances in Space Research 44 (2009) 151–161

and the SETI Institute support the on-going research pro-gram and outfitting of the greenhouse.

The tandem use of the ACMG and CSA DevelopmentGreenhouse provide an analogue for a staged technologyreadiness level development program with the ACMGreceiving only ‘flight ready’ technologies which are initiallytested at the CSA site. Construction of the CSA Develop-ment Greenhouse (Fig. 2) commenced in 2004 and has beenfully operational since 2007. Nominally, it is a copy of theACMG but includes new development systems for appro-priate testing prior to integration into the northerngreenhouse.

The CSA also has analytical laboratory resourcesdevoted to sensor technologies that will enhance the fidelityof BLSS and provide terrestrial greenhouse operators withnew technologies and protocols for nutrient management.Facilities include appropriate chemistry and plant growthinfrastructure, absorption and fluorescence analysis tools,and other associated optical equipment. Additionally, theCSA’s David Florida Laboratory (Ottawa, Ontario) offersa wide selection of environment testing facilities, whichmay be applicable for the testing of future CanadianALS hardware (Singhal et al., 2002).

The capability matrix in Table 2 only presents a subsetof the Canadian institutions that may contribute to futureALS systems. In fact, as will be described in the sections tofollow, an aggressive plan for the Canada ALS program ispresented, and one that will require both national andinternational collaborations.

6. Future directions

Recent workshops (CanALSS Workshop, June 2008,Guelph, Ontario and the Canadian Space ExplorationWorkshop 6, December 2008, St. Hubert, Quebec), meet-ings of the Canadian ALS Discipline Working Groupand studies have provided future directions and milestonesfor Canadian ALS research until 2030 (Fig. 3). It is

Fig. 3. Canadian advanced life support system roadmap (Legend: EarthGrowth Chamber Utilization (EGCU), Earth Control Facilities (ECF),Earth Integrated Life Support System Test-Bed (EILSST), Earth Inte-grated Training and Simulation Centre (EITSC), Lunar Plant GrowthLander (LPGL), Lunar Salad Machine (LSM), Lunar Scaleable CanALSS(LSC), Vertical arrows represent commencement of full facility operationsor launch dates).

assumed that by 2030 a plant production system will beoperating on the lunar surface capable of supporting anon-trivial (e.g. 5–10%) portion of crew life supportrequirements. The progression from this operational sys-tem to a 2050 goal of a planetary plant production systemcapable of 50% food closure will be primarily achievedthrough operational experience obtained from this system,which will be modular in nature, allowing for expansion toaccommodate an increasing contribution to life supportrequirements. These milestones are based on incrementaladvances in technology development and applications insupport of space exploration initiatives.

6.1. Earth growth chamber utilization

This activity will capitalize on current Canadian infra-structure elements and the furthering of candidate crop hor-ticultural management strategies, focusing on the continuedintegration of the Canadian biological life support systemcommunity. Pre-existing facilities, such as those present atthe CESRF and at other described academic institutions,will be utilized in their current form, refurbished or wherenecessary new systems will be developed with the intent thatcommon plant growth infrastructure will be available atparticipating institutions nationwide. Research at thesefacilities will evaluate candidate crops under operationalconditions (pressure, atmospheric compositions, lightingsource quality/quantity, etc.), investigate genetic modifica-tion requirements (low light tolerance, plant architecture,nutritional modification (human), biomaterials, density tol-erance, etc.) and further the development of these adaptedcultivars. More detailed surveys of potential study areasare provided in Wheeler and Bugbee, 2001; Tibbitts andAlford, 1980. Standard operating procedures will be devel-oped for participating institutions allowing for direct studycomparisons. These studies will benefit from currentlyestablished research collaborations between the Universityof Guelph, the University of Gent in Belgium and the Uni-versity of Napoli in Italy (officially commenced January,2009), which focus on food characterization and concurrentplant production trials in Canada, Belgium and Italy. Addi-tional international partners may continue to becomeinvolved in similar studies.

6.2. Earth control facilities

A series of distributed command and control facilitiesused for the control of ground-based and space-basedALS systems is proposed. Current thinking is that futurespace-based growth chambers/greenhouses will be highlyautomated with extensive robotic systems. The reasoningfor this thinking is to minimize crew time requirementsand to allow for reduced system mass by operating atreduced pressures. This limits crew involvement butincreases Earth control facility requirements. It is envi-sioned that the majority of production monitoring wouldbe Earth-based, and these facilities would be distributed

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across various institutions in Canada possessing the rele-vant expertise in the described ALS capability areas. Thesefacilities would also serve as the control centres for earlymissions such as a robotic Lunar Plant Growth Lander.Operations for such early missions could utilize existinginfrastructure nodes such as the CSA’s Payload Telescienceand Operations Centre.

6.3. Earth integrated life support system test-bed

This facility would serve as an integration test-bed for thedisparate capabilities required for space-based BLSS. Thosecapability areas listed in Table 2 are at different levels of tech-nology readiness as related to an integrated space-based sys-tem. In many instances, they have been qualified in isolationbut not yet integrated with a full-up plant production system.This facility would provide the bridge for these capabilities tobe tested in unison and thus address integration and interfaceissues, growth architectures and provide data on overall test-bed operation and thus better bounds on lunar growth sys-tems requirements. This test-bed facility will allow forimproved assessment of the potential for space-baseddeployment of selected technologies through ESM analysis,as is common in the ALS domain. The proposed facilitywould be located at an accessible venue (e.g. CSA Headquar-ters) where researchers across the nation could bring theirsystems for integrated trials. The potential for terrestrialtechnology transfer and HQP development from this facilitywould be high.

6.4. Earth integrated training and simulation centre

As the aim of an ALS system is the support of humancrews, there is an obvious requirement to ground test thesesystems with humans in the loop prior to any space-basedmission. The roadmap proposes that following the deploy-ment of the Earth Integrated Life Support System Test-Bed, a facility, located in an operationally relevant loca-tion, be constructed and used to conduct human integratedtests. This facility could be installed at a CARN site withthe additional intent to serve the needs of such communi-ties as that of operational space medicine, astrobiology,geology and others with interests in space analogue andassociated field science. An Earth-based human integratedtraining and simulation centre is a necessary step for thefollowing reasons (National Research Council, 1997;Henninger et al., 1996):

� Affords an environment for the definition of realistic sys-tem requirements.� Provides real metabolic waste streams and system

dynamics.� Verifies life support system outputs and their acceptabil-

ity for humans.� Addresses integration issues.� Addresses relevant habitability issues (adequacy of facil-

ities, maintainability, crew time).

Like other ground-based systems, this proposed activitywill promote risk reduction by the validation of deployedtechnologies and system operation. In addition, this facilitywould provide a unique training facility for astronauts andground controllers in the operation of ALS systems. Thisfacility would also provide an engineering-model for theLunar Scaleable CanALSS once it becomes operationalon the Moon so that any issues or failures could be morefully explored and understood. International partnershipsare likely for such a roadmap element as high-fidelityhuman integrated life support systems impose challengingsafety and budgetary considerations.

6.5. Lunar plant growth lander

The roadmap includes plans for a robotic lander to growthe first plant on another planetary body. This contributionwould likely be in the form of a payload contribution to aninternational partner mission and would involve a simpli-fied growth system to demonstrate the feasibility of growthon the lunar surface and an improved understanding of theeffects of the lunar environment on plant growth. In partic-ular, this study would investigate the effects of the lunarradiation environment by means of a system incorporatingArabidopsis grown on agar plates (Paul et al., 2008). Basedon the experience obtained through Advanced PlantEXperiments on Orbit – Cambium (APEX-Cambium), sev-eral of these growth plates could contain dormant twigs(NASA, 2009). This near term mission would help to mobi-lize and develop the Canadian community and importantinternational collaborations.

6.6. Lunar salad machine

A salad machine (Kliss et al., 2000) would represent atransition between a non-human integrated system andone that is relied upon by the crew for some modest contri-butions to life support and psychological benefits. In theearly stages, especially for lunar missions, PC life supportsystems will represent the baseline. A lunar salad machinewould provide confidence in BLSS on the Moon and wouldutilize an ISS locker sized growth system incorporatingsome of the technologies for later use in the scaled up lunarplant production system. In particular the Lunar SaladMachine would deploy similar modular components thatwould be used in the Lunar Scaleable CanALSS. The levelof atmospheric management, water management and ther-mal control and autonomy between the Lunar SaladMachine and the habitat itself would be defined throughvarious trade studies.

6.7. Lunar scaleable CanALSS

As the full intent of BLSS is to allow for improved crewautonomy from Earth-based resupply, the Lunar ScaleableCanALSS would be designed to provide a portion of the

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crew’s air, food and water requirements. Results of ongo-ing experiments will help answer prevailing design ques-tions including above surface or below surfaceinstallation, crop selection, operating pressure, level ofrobotic tending, etc. Additionally, the modular technolo-gies developed over previous incremental steps would pro-vide improved technology readiness and confidence for thislarger scale growth system. This roadmap element wouldprovide a significant lunar infrastructure contributionand thus provide Canada enhanced access to furtherlaunch opportunities, lunar science returns and Canadianastronaut crew assignments. This element is termed ‘scalea-ble’ because it will grow with increasing deployment oflunar infrastructure and thus provide continued improve-ments in air, food and water closure for lunar outpostarchitectures or even sustained presence on the Moon.

Just as the Moon is being used by the international com-munity as a test-bed for Mars, Canadian ALS systemsdeveloped for the Moon would be designed with Mars fore-sight and be readily adaptable to the human exploration ofMars. These steps would put Canada on a path to develop-ing BLSS with moderate mass closure by 2050. The dis-cussed opportunities would permit Canada to establishan early foothold on the Moon with biological systemsand provide excellent opportunities from the perspectiveof outreach, HQP development and terrestrial technologytransfer.

7. Terrestrial benefits/technology transfer

One of the major outcomes of furthering Canadian ALScapabilities and one that has been the cornerstone of thecurrent funding regime for ALS related research is theexploitation of terrestrial technology transfer potential.Space exploration provides a powerful technology ‘‘pull”which is, in turn, driven by industrial collaboration. Thusthere is a direct linkage between space and terrestrial tech-nology development in this domain. Several notable exam-ples of potential impact areas of work in the ALS domaininclude:

7.1. Improvements in greenhouse labour and energy efficiency

Labour and energy costs represent the two highest inputcosts for Canadian greenhouse operators (Statistics Can-ada, 2007). Space-based life support systems require a sim-ilar focus on the reduction of these two variables due tominimum crew time and power resource limitationsimposed on these systems. This design challenge forcesassessment of alternative options such as robotics andenergy management techniques. In addition, the mass sav-ings yielded by reduced pressures for Mars and lunargrowth systems may preclude manual horticultural man-agement practices thus imposing a requirement for roboticsystems. Robotics have been regularly applied for earlyplant growth stages (seeding, planting, etc.) and for post-harvest processing (sorting, packaging), but have yet to

be reliability applied for the middle phase of crop produc-tion (crop maintenance and harvest) (Miles and Krom,1993). BLSS research clearly can contribute to the develop-ment of such systems.

7.2. Environmental compliance

It is estimated that one hectare of tomato production onrockwool produces 7.5 tonnes/yr of leached fertilizer salts,4000 m3/yr of leached irrigation water, 76 m3/ha/yr of usedrockwool and 40–60 tonnes/yr of plant debris (OMAFRA,1993). These are not insignificant waste outputs and withseveral recent environmental acts and regulations cominginto effect, growers will have to adjust their operations tocomply with regulations and minimize outputs. In particu-lar, Canadian greenhouse growers must move to recirculat-ing technologies or otherwise invest in on-site wastewatertreatment systems to comply with recent nutrient manage-ment legislation. Further restrictions in both the use andavailability of pest control agents are also a concern of ter-restrial greenhouse operations. As space-based BLSS willrequire a high degree of mass closure, effective solutionsto minimize resource output and waste are implicit require-ments. Furthermore, pathogen control will be critical inBLSS to prevent catastrophic systems failure; pathogencontrol that cannot rely on traditional chemical controlstrategies. Thus the concerted effort to realize these solu-tions for future space-based systems will mean crop man-agement strategies and technologies will be developedthat will improve resource use and recycling in terrestrialsystems. Besides providing for better environmental com-pliance, reductions in greenhouse waste outputs would alsoresult in cost savings. One recent notable technology trans-fer example includes the development of a recyclable plantgrowth medium jointly by the University of Guelph andSRI Petro Chemical Inc., which has been demonstratedto reduce labour and energy inputs while providing anadditional disease barrier in hydroponic vegetableproduction.

7.3. Plant production systems for northern communities

The Canadian Government Food Mail Program (previ-ously named the Northern Air Stage Program), establishedin the late 1960s, is a service administered by Canada Postwith partial funding from Indian and Northern AffairsCanada. This program permits reduced shipping expensesto northern communities primarily for the purpose of ship-ping nutritious food items. It services approximately 140northern communities, which are home to approximately100,000 people. In 2006–2007 approximately six millionkilograms of food and other goods were shipped under thisprogram (INAC, 2008). Indian and Northern Affairs Can-ada provided over $45 M in funding for this program in2007–2008 (INAC, 2008). The remote locations of the com-munities served means that air travel and fuel chargesamount to a high percentage of the costs of this program.

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Local food production would have the potential to sub-stantially reduce costs and provide enhanced quality offresh produce. As Canada’s northern sovereignty is oneof the current Canadian Government’s overarching priori-ties, other Arctic facilities such as scientific research out-posts or Arctic bases/training centres; centres that couldbenefit dramatically from local food production facilities(Office of the Prime Minister, 2006). Several northern com-munity greenhouses, such as the Inuvik CommunityGreenhouse (Inuvik, North West Territories) and Pir-uqsiavut Greenhouse (Iqaluit, Nunavut), are already inoperation but could benefit substantially from technologytransfer specific to their challenging growth environment.

7.4. Green buildings

The idea of the installation of plant growth hardwareinto residential, commercial and industrial buildings forthe improvement of the living/working environment,reduction in energy consumption and waste production,and/or production of food has been proposed for sometime (Kibert, 2007). One recent example of BLSS relatedtechnology transfer in this area is the development of tech-nologies for the biofiltration of indoor air. University ofGuelph, in collaboration with Nedlaw Living Walls Ltd.(formally Air Quality Solutions Ltd.), led the developmentof ‘biofilters’ which have been installed in several largepublic centres including: Cambridge City Hall, Cambridge,Ontario (112 m2), University of Guelph – Humber Build-ing, Toronto, Ontario (160 m2). These biofilters treatindoor air which can reduce sick building syndrome,remove volatile organic compounds and improve overallindoor air quality. Other analogous challenges exist forspace-based life support systems and green buildingsincluding, on-site water treatment, food production, energyutilization efficiency and waste reduction. Improvement inthese through a continued Canadian focus on ALS willmean more abundant exploitation and commercializationof green buildings and associated technologies.

7.5. Alternative plant pest control & water resource use

efficiency

Current social, environmental and legislative trends arehaving significant impacts on horticultural productionpractices, leaving growers with very few options for pestcontrol and significantly impacting water use practices(Johansson et al., 2002; Hong and Moorman, 2005).Research conducted as part of ALS programs (Universityof Guelph) has developed the basis for new strategies forcontrolling plant pests and allowing for the sustained re-use of irrigation waters. The cornerstone technology thatthese strategies are built on is oxidative, with ozone repre-senting the principle component of the system (Grahamet al., 2009). The applications developed, as a spin-off ofALS research, will provide growers with a socially andenvironmentally responsible pest control option, while

aiding in improving water use efficiency in horticulturalproduction.

7.6. Outreach

Tomatosphere, a joint initiative between the CSA, Agri-culture and Agri-Food Canada, Heinz, Stokes Seeds, theOCE and the University of Guelph, is an educational out-reach program based upon BLSS (Rondeau Vuk et al.,2004). In particular, students are provided seeds that havebeen taken to orbit, a relevant space analogue site orexposed to some other space like environment. Germina-tion and growth of these seeds is compared to nominal con-trol seeds. This very successful outreach and space scienceeducation program, which started in 2001, has now grownto a worldwide scale reaching more than 11,000 classroomsannually and exposing students to the benefits of studyingscience at an early stage. Tomatosphere was honoured withthe Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute’s Alouetteaward in 2007, an award recognizing an outstanding con-tribution to advancement in Canadian space technology,application, and science.

8. Conclusion

Canada is a world leader in ALS system research andtechnology development. Canada has expertise in manyof the capability areas required for a Lunar or MarsALS. Several initiatives are leading the future of Canadianbiological life support participation. Canada has chosen tofocus on terrestrial test-beds and planetary (Moon/Mars)growth systems and not on Earth orbital or transit systems.Future work will also focus on higher plants and not onmicrobial systems (outside those required for higher plantsystems); systems already under development by interna-tional partners. Canada will continue to build on the strongrelationships it has developed with international partnerssuch as those with ESA, Universitat Autonoma de Barce-lona, University of Gent and other European institutionsthrough the MELiSSA project as well as with NASA-KSC and the University of Florida.

The roadmap encompassing potential Canadian contri-butions including Earth-based growth chamber studies, acontrol facility for remote plant production systems, anintegrated test-bed as well as a human integrated plant pro-duction system at a Canadian analogue site will be used toimprove candidate crop horticultural management practis-es, integrate current capability areas, reduce risk throughimprovement of technology readiness, astronaut andground controller training and preparation for lunargrowth systems. The development of a robotic lunargrowth system will provide Canada the opportunity togrow the first plant on another planetary surface and gainan understanding of the response of plant based biology tothe lunar environment. The roadmap also sets targets forthe Canadian development of a salad machine that couldbe incorporated into an early lunar sortie mission. This

160 M. Bamsey et al. / Advances in Space Research 44 (2009) 151–161

would be followed by a full scale lunar plant productionsystem for a future lunar outpost or sustained lunar pres-ence. A Canadian ALS system lunar infrastructure contri-bution could represent a key contribution providingCanadian researchers access to lunar science returns andaccess to the Moon for Canadian astronauts. The necessarytechnology developments for such an initiative would pro-vide countless terrestrial benefits in the domains of foodsafety and security, northern communities and develop-ment, environmental stewardship, greenhouse labour, tech-nology and overall production efficiency.

Acknowledgements

The authors to thank the following individuals for theirvaluable contributions to this document L. Chappell(MDA), A. Gosselin (Universite Laval), S. Braham(SFU), G. Bonin (UTIAS), D. Piontek (Bristol Aerospace),A. Kearns (Neptec Design Group), B. Gordon (RoutesAstroEngineering), J. Bourdeau (Routes AstroEngineer-ing) and R. Wheeler (NASA KSC).

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