Growing food without the dirt Angela Beanman works with basil plants on a hydroponic table. Ms. Beanman works as a graduate student in the Horticulture Depertment at Iowa State University under a Graduate Student Research Program fellowship through NASA. She does reasearch on hydroponic basil to figure out what this plant can tolerate so it can grow well on the International Space Station. She also co-teaches an introductory horticulture lab class, where she is in charge of the "Plants In Space" unit.
Above-- The three main elements of a bioregenerative life support system are the people, the plants, and microbes. This diagram shows how each supports the others to create a "closed" ecological system. (Gray water is not a sewage. It's dirty or soapy waste; e.g., human hygiene activities.) - NASA website Text: Parker G., Juian Middle School Smith, Heather R. "Growing Plants Without the Dirt." NASA. 29 Jan. 2008 <http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/plantgrowth/careercorner/Angela_Beaman_Profile.html>. Photo & Diagram: {{Public domain: USA gov}} |
