Hydrogel-based controlled closed ecological environments for extraterrestrial food production (AgriSpace)

Space missions require sustainable, autonomous means of producing fresh food in space, without having to rely on unfeasible deliveries from earth. Fen Technology is developing AgriSpace: an Autonomous-Deployment Portable Farms based on our terrestrial Rapid Deployment Portable Farms concept, to address this great need identified by the US Space Force, NASA and other stakeholders. It is a sophisticated portable and collapsible farm structure, utilizing our innovative proprietary hydrogel- based plant growing technologies relying on lighter and more durable material to facilitate transportation and endurance to extra-terrestrial atmospheric conditions. Our farms (with the algae-derived hydrogel pods system injected with nutrient solution) can be sent to either the Moon or Mars and deploy autonomously before the astronauts arrive. They can hibernate for long periods of time and switch on just in time to produce very high vegetable yields with minimal resource requirements. Our system uses a new sophisticated approach to closed system cultivation which is autonomous, remote and tailored for microgravity environments. Based on our high efficiency EMS (LED) lighting, plant support technologies (growing pods with hydrogel-infused alumina material in microfluidic chambers), radiation protection, integrated IoT monitoring, and a myriad of support systems, our technology maximizes productivity, resiliency, and vegetable plant growth in space.