Sunday Supplement: CUBES
The Award-Winning Center for the Utilization of Biological Engineering in Space
Hello, Gardeners of the Galaxy, and welcome to the GotG Sunday Supplement, premium content for my top Rocket Boosters!
In 2017, NASA put together a multi-institution team to explore how humans could live self-sufficiently on Mars. The new Space Technology Research Institute, “Center for the Utilization of Biological Engineering in Space” (CUBES) was given a $15 million, five-year mission focused on cutting-edge biotechnology to optimize food and plant-made therapeutics in space, as well as to enable production of biomaterials and energy.
Utah State University (USU) professors Bruce Bugbee and Lance Seefeldt were appointed as two of the principal investigators.
“It takes at least two years to get supplies from Earth to Mars. That supply line is too slow and costly, so newly arrived Mars explorers are going to have to generate their own food, pharmaceuticals and infrastructure” said Seefeldt, a professor in USU’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
Bugbee, a professor in USU’s Department of Plants, Soils and Climate, says Mars greenhouses will need to be constructed underground to withstand the planet’s harsh environment. CUBES researchers are developing ways to supply growth chambers with sunlight and nutrients.
“We’re determining the kinds of plants, including rice, lettuce, potatoes and possibly soybeans, that can be successfully grown and will provide a nutritionally sustaining diet for the Mars residents,” he says.
On 24th April 2024, NASA recognised the team’s efforts with an agency Group Achievement Award, one of 14 NASA Honor Awards bestowed annually. So it feels like a good time to dig a little bit deeper into CUBES!
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