5:15 PM - 7:15 PM
[HCG25-P01] A miniature garden terraforming project to create green space inside a lunar base
★Invited Papers
Keywords:miniature garden terraforming, Lunar simulant, plant growth-promoting fungi, radish
The stage of space development is shifting from the International Space Station (ISS) to the moon and Mars. The moon's surface is a desert made of lunar regolith, which contains many silicon dioxide crystals. In order to establish a lunar base where humans can live, farmland capable of producing food is necessary, so greening the moon is essential. In recent years, successful cultivation of Arabidopsis thaliana using lunar regolith collected during the Apollo program has been reported. However, in that study, A. thaliana did not grow beyond the seedling stage, and it was not expected that it would be able to complete its life cycle. Lunar regolith has low porosity, so it has poor breathability and water permeability. Its low cation exchange capacity means that fertilizers do not remain in it easily. Furthermore, lunar regolith contains many fine glass-like crystals, so there are concerns that it may cause health problems similar to asbestos. Therefore, in order to cultivate plants on the moon, measures that will make this possible are necessary. The Moon does not have enough gravitational force to support an atmosphere, so terraforming the entire Moon is not practical. Therefore, the speakers propose a miniature garden terraforming project, which aims to create indoor green spaces and farmland inside a lunar base using useful microorganisms that humans can manage. Since there is a limit to the number of items that can be launched from Earth, it is not realistic to transport fertile soil or compost from Earth to the Moon. Human manure was once a commonly used fertilizer in Japan, but its use in closed environments should be avoided from the perspective of preventing infectious diseases and psychological aversion. Therefore, the goal is to create soil on-site without compost or other materials. A wide variety of microorganisms are involved in the creation and maintenance of fertile soil in the Earth environment. However, in order to create an environment where humans can live while maintaining the ecosystem of the lunar environment, it is essential that the number of microorganisms involved in the creation and fertilization of soil be minimal and that they have no adverse effects on the human body.
The development of a lunar base is limited by transportation, and it is necessary to minimize the resources used. At the lunar base, food will be transported from Earth in the early stages, and crops will be produced in farmland after passing through a plant factory. Therefore, we will verify to what extent resources can be saved in turning simulants into soil by using microorganisms to turn plant residues into soil improvement materials. This research will provide knowledge about greening and food production in unknown environments such as the lunar surface. The results will be useful for indoor greening in airtight buildings such as condominiums. Furthermore, it is expected that this technology will be used to green unsuitable land for agriculture and convert it into farmland in developing countries where the resources available for economic reasons are limited.
In this presentation, a soil improvement material made from plant residues composted with plant growth-promoting fungi was applied to a simulant, and the effects on the growth of radishes were compared. The results showed that when the material was applied to the simulant, the growth of radishes was significantly improved compared to when only simulant was used, but this did not reach the level of commercially available potting soil. Also, when grown using only simulant, protein dynamics that differed from those observed in commercially available potting soil were confirmed. Furthermore, the chemical composition of the harvested radishes and the chemical and physical properties of the simulant after cultivation were measured, and the excess or deficiency of nutrients for radish cultivation was analyzed. These results will be presented.
The development of a lunar base is limited by transportation, and it is necessary to minimize the resources used. At the lunar base, food will be transported from Earth in the early stages, and crops will be produced in farmland after passing through a plant factory. Therefore, we will verify to what extent resources can be saved in turning simulants into soil by using microorganisms to turn plant residues into soil improvement materials. This research will provide knowledge about greening and food production in unknown environments such as the lunar surface. The results will be useful for indoor greening in airtight buildings such as condominiums. Furthermore, it is expected that this technology will be used to green unsuitable land for agriculture and convert it into farmland in developing countries where the resources available for economic reasons are limited.
In this presentation, a soil improvement material made from plant residues composted with plant growth-promoting fungi was applied to a simulant, and the effects on the growth of radishes were compared. The results showed that when the material was applied to the simulant, the growth of radishes was significantly improved compared to when only simulant was used, but this did not reach the level of commercially available potting soil. Also, when grown using only simulant, protein dynamics that differed from those observed in commercially available potting soil were confirmed. Furthermore, the chemical composition of the harvested radishes and the chemical and physical properties of the simulant after cultivation were measured, and the excess or deficiency of nutrients for radish cultivation was analyzed. These results will be presented.