P4S presents: Dr Raymond M Wheeler – Plants for Bioregenerative Life Support Systems in Space

Presenter: Dr Raymond M. Wheeler

Title: Plants for Bioregenerative Life Support Systems in Space

Abstract: The concept of using plants for life support has been studied for over 60 years.  The plants could be used to produce oxygen and remove carbon dioxide, while producing food.  This would require controlled environment agriculture (CEA) systems that can deal with the constraints of space.  Indeed, it was these constraints that drove NASA to first test LEDs for plant lighting, use vertical farming for volume efficiency, and use recirculating hydroponics for root zone crops like potato, sweet potato and peanut.   By pushing the plants hard with high light and elevated CO2, NASA studies showed that 20-25 m2 of plants could provide the O2 and CO2 removal for one person, and 40-50 m2 could provide the food (dietary calories).  But more testing is needed: Can we sustain these yields for multiple crop cycles, what are the risks and possible failures, can we design and engineer plants to thrive in space settings, can plant growth systems be coupled with waste management systems to recycle essential nutrients, and more.  Answering these questions will require a global, multi-national effort, which in turn will benefit CEA systems on Earth.

Bio: Raymond Wheeler is a plant physiologist and emeritus senior scientist at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, where he has led the advanced life support research group and served as Kennedy Space Center’s chief scientist.  His NASA research focused on controlled environment studies with crops for food and oxygen production, CO₂ removal, and wastewater processing for human life support in space.  Ray has been co-investigator for several spaceflight experiments, including a test to grow potato tubers in weightlessness, studies using the “Veggie” and Advanced Plant Habitat chambers on the International Space Station, and NASA’s first plant growth chamber on the Lunar surface for the planned Artemis III mission.  He has received NASA’s Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal, the USDA Morrison Distinguished Lecturer Award, the American Society for Gravitation and Space Research Founder’s Award, the American Institute for Aerospace and Aeronautics Jeffries Award for Aerospace Medicine and Life Science Research, a Fellow in the American Society for Space and Gravitational Research, and served as Vice Chair for the Life Sciences Commission of COSPAR, the International Committee on Space Research.