Plants in space 'biopod': a French firm's answer to climate change

Reuters

Biotech company Interstellar Labs proposes a bold response to climate change -- a spaceship-style pod that can grow plants efficiently and eventually be deployed to Mars.The Paris and Los Angeles-based company has designed a controlled-environment capsule system that could one day allow crops to be grown in space.Founded by Barbara Belvisi in 2018, Interstellar Lab, based just outside Paris, designs living crop systems in controlled environments on Earth for sustainable agriculture and in space to support astronaut life.The BioPod is about 5 meters tall (16 feet) with a surface area of 55 square meters (592 square feet) and has a unique shape that allows it to be easily deployed. Its ellipsoid shape helps with airflow, heating and cooling.Belvisi will be going to Dubai for the COP28 to drum up interest in the project and seek investors.This year&#x27;s U.N. climate conference, taking place from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12, is the world&#x27;s 28th gathering of global leaders and thinkers to confront global warming since the first &quot;Conference of the Parties&quot; in 1995.The Biopod was inspired by space technologies to offer a totally sealed production system, protected from weather conditions and seasons. It is rapidly deployable and requires no foundation or access to water.Inside, a combination of technologies ensures a balance of conditions for climate (temperature, CO2, humidity), nutrition (nutrients, concentration, irrigation, pH) and light (intensity, photosynthesis and photoperiodism). It also includes AI-based management and monitoring software, as well as a replenishment service.In collaboration with NASA, the space-based version of the BioPod for use on the Moon is set to be ready by 2027.Keeping astronauts well-nourished for extended periods within the limited, zero-gravity confines of space vehicles in low-Earth orbit long has posed a challenge for NASA. For the past two decades, crews aboard the International Space Station have lived on a diet mostly of packaged meals with some fresh produce delivered on regular resupply missions.ISS teams also have experimented with growing a number of vegetables in orbit, including lettuce, cabbage, kale and chili peppers, according to NASA.But the imperative for self-contained, low-waste food production requiring minimal resources has become more pronounced as NASA sets its sights on returning astronauts to the moon and eventual human exploration of Mars and beyond.Interstellar Labs also recently signed a partnership with L&#x27;Oreal&#x27;s Green Sciences in the hopes of using the Biopod to develop a sustainable source of plants and to reduce the carbon footprint for transportation.The biotech firm plans to sell each unit for $350,000 once it is commercialized. — Story from Reuters

Biotech company Interstellar Labs proposes a bold response to climate change -- a spaceship-style pod that can grow plants efficiently and eventually be deployed to Mars.

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Plants in space 'biopod': a French firm's answer to climate change

Plants in space 'biopod': a French firm's answer to climate change

Reuters

Published Nov 29, 2023 12:24 AM PHT

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technology

France

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climate change

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