Possible nutritional output of rapid-deployable CEA greenhouses for emergency scenarios

Abstract: Space research is a catalyst for innovation and has for decades provided many tools for the improvement of life on earth. The development of space food and the demand of new methods for on-site food production for long-term space missions may, in fact, help solve the issues regarding food insecurity on earth. The German Aerospace Centre (DLR) has since 2011 undertaken the task to develop the method for on-site food production, with the development of EDEN ISS, a Controlled Environmental Agriculture (CEA) greenhouse module for space applications. Space greenhouse systems have stringent requirements since optimal growing conditions need to be achieved with very limited resources and with no room for failure. Whereas many areas on earth face similar problems, plant cultivation methods for space may also translate into terrestrial applications where food production is otherwise difficult. For instance, space greenhouse systems may provide ideal solutions for humanitarian assistance scenarios that are in urgent need of new and innovative solutions to combat food insecurity. As a result, DLR and WFP have started a spin-off collaboration of EDEN ISS called MEPA. MEPA is a mobile CEA greenhouse that combines the hydroponic methods of nutrient film technique and aeroponics in a flexible seed cultivation mat, to make an easily transported food production system for humanitarian food aid scenarios. This study primarily examines the CEA cultivation methods and their applicability in space and on earth, followed by a description of the MEPA system and its potential as a tool in humanitarian aid scenarios. In addition, the study investigates the potential of MEPA as an easy-to-use CEA micronutrient production system. The study of the MEPA system was conducted in several steps. First a growth test and an experimental set up of MEPA was performed by constructing and testing the seed cultivation mat. The study indicated that the seed cultivation mat has no issues growing beans, lettuce, and purslane. The growth system was almost autonomous and needed almost no supervision. Second, the nutritional yield and the potential nutrition adequacy of MEPA was estimated by comparing different indicators of nutritional quality. The calculations estimated that depending on crop choice, a 20ft container of MEPA units have the potential to feed up to 100 people with a micronutrient content adequate for up to 350 people. Subsequently, the calculations led to a proposal of new metrics that measures the nutritional quality of the potential output, which may fill a gap in current crop choice methods.