Linking L-systems and mass balances to mechanistically model plant growth in reduced gravity environments
- Paper number
IAC-16,A1,6,1,x32080
- Coauthor
Ms. Lucie Poulet, University Blaise Pascal, France
- Coauthor
Prof. Claude-Gilles Dussap, France
- Coauthor
Prof. Jean-Pierre Fontaine, University Blaise Pascal, France
- Year
2016
- Abstract
The European Space Agency (ESA) project Micro-Ecological Life Support System Alternative (MELiSSA) can ensure life-support functions such as atmosphere and water recycling and waste for crew survival for future long-duration human space missions and the establishment of permanent off-Earth bases. It is a closed-loop bio-regenerative life-support system functioning with microorganisms and higher plants and providing a cycling of mass, including O2 production, CO2 capture, water recycling and food production.The growth and development of higher plants are strongly influenced by environmental conditions (e.g. gravity, pressure, temperature, relative humidity, partial pressure of O2 or CO2) so bio-regenerative life support systems require a high level of control and management. In order to understand and predict the effects of microgravity or of a reduced gravity environment (like on Mars or on the Moon) on plant growth at its morphological, physicochemical and biochemical levels, a mechanistic physical model of plant growth is being developed. Plant growth models for applications in life-support systems require incorporating plants behavior for a wide range of environmental conditions, unlike most models developed for agronomy, which are usually developed to work in specific conditions.The first mechanistic plant growth model developed in the framework of the MELiSSA project attempts to address limitations of current existing plant growth models developed for agronomy. Based on this work, a preliminary model is defined addressing the addition of gravity, thus taking into account mechanisms such as gravitropism and root absorption, with a simple morphology model and a root module.Plant morphology is typically addressed using L-systems, which are a grammar enabling accurate representations of plant morphology. However they are not linked to physical and chemical processes occurring in plants. In this presentation, the addition of L-systems into the afore-described model is discussed. This enables to link mass balances and plant morphology in a mechanistic way.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
(absent)