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Space V is at the forefront of designing and studying cutting edge equipment for the cultivation of plants in space.
In the context of the Space Economy, Astronauts will be empowered to accomplish longer missions and upgrade the maximization and management of their available resources.
Our greenhouse produces a significant yield-per-volume increase and the smart management of necessary energy and water resources pays back with significant savings.
Studies are ongoing to evaluate different cultivation substrates and recycling of organic waste produced onboard.
The innovation of the Space V greenhouse is its adaptive feature.
For most of their development, plants are in a growth phase where they require little volume.
Current space greenhouse development projects are evolutions of terrestrial greenhouses, in which the entire volume is air-conditioned, with small cultivation surfaces and excessive energy consumption.
The Space V greenhouse avoids these drawbacks by progressively adapting the volume available to each cultivation shelf according to the growth level of its plants. A mechatronic system manages for the automatic movement of the cultivation shelves and an AI Decision Support System (DSS) optimizes the position of the shelves according to the precise level of growth of the plants in each production cycle.
THE FINAL RESULT
A study of the University of Genoa demonstrates that when comparing a traditional vertical farm with the Adaptive Greenhouse, since the total available volume is fully exploited, the energy demand is reduced and the production yield increases by 108%.
The same study concludes that – should the part containing the root system substrate also be adaptive – the yield gain could increase up to 135%. Freeze-dried soil, hydroponic or aeroponic substrates may be used.
