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INITIAL ASSESSMENT OF ON-ORBIT PLANT DEVELOPMENT USING THE BPS IMAGING SYSTEM.  R.C. Morrow, K.M. Stolp, M.C. Lee.  Orbital Technologies Corporation, Madison, WI  53717.

   The Biomass Production System (BPS) was flown on the ISS for a total of 74 days as part of the Increment 4 mission.  A ground control was conducted as part of this experiment using a second BPS unit. During this mission, a total of 11 sets of plants were grown, seven sets of dwarf wheat (Triticum aestivum cv. Apogee) and two sets of Brassica rapa cv. ASTROPLANTS.

   Part of the standard complement of each of the four BPS chambers is a color CCD camera.  These cameras were used with a digitizing circuit card to collect images every two hours.  These images were downlinked daily and provided an initial evaluation of plant growth and development on-orbit.  The images allowed evaluation of approximate plant height and general plant health, and tracking of developmental stages (e.g. germination, flowering, and seed pod development).  A total of over 3000 images were collected during the mission, not including images taken separately by the crew.  The BPS cameras were also used to collect full video of wheat and Brassica plants to evaluate movement imparted by chamber air circulation fans.

   Developmental stages for Brassica grown in mg, from germination through flowering, seed production and senescence appeared to track well with plants grown in at 1g, at least in terms of gross morphology. Wheat growth also appeared outwardly similar for plants grown in mg and 1g.  Other interesting observations were made with the imaging system, including a reorientation of plants probably due to a vehicle reboost maneuver.

   Future improvements to the imaging system will include providing a deeper field of focus, improved resolution and color reproduction, and use of cameras with infrared and low light capabilities.

(Project support provided by Phase I & II SBIR grants through NASA KSC and a Phase III SBIR grant through NASA ARC.)

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