Date of Award

6-12-2014

Document Type

Thesis

Publisher

Santa Clara: Santa Clara University, 2014.

First Advisor

Nikola Djordjevic

Second Advisor

Robert Marks

Abstract

Taking one pound of food to space costs over $10,000. A plant growth chamber in space would help reduce the cost of transporting food by creating a healthy, long-term source of food that can be used for extended space missions. Currently, there is a lack of knowledge in gravity response mechanisms of plants to facilitate employing such a system. The overarching goal of this project is to add to the current body of knowledge related to growing plants in space by conducting research regarding the effect of hypergravity on cherry belle radish growth. To successfully accomplish this goal, an aeroponic test bed that induces hypergravitational fields ranging from 3gs to 5gs while also providing the nutrients and lighting necessary for growing cherry belle radishes was constructed.

Download
COinS