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Development of Biocompatibility Procedures for Assessment of Plant Growth in Ground Test Hardware for the EMCSThe European Modular Cultivation System (EMCS) is an European Space Agency-developed facility designed to support plant research in microgravity on the IS NASA is responsible for providing US specific hardware to use within the EMCS. In preparation for flight, research will be developed and tested at Ames Research Center in the EMCS ground test hardware, the Experiment Reference Module (ERM) In order to determine the acceptability of the ERM for such purposes, biocompatibility tests will be performed to determine that the hardware functions as intended and successfully supports the' growth of plants. In this report, we describe the development of procedures and the collection of baseline data against which to compare ERM function, e.g. biocompatibility testing. A simple and robust system was developed to grow whole Arabidopsis thaliana plants within the confined volumes characteristic of spaceflight hardware. Our system for growing plants eliminated the necessity of a water/nutrient delivery system and allowed for quantifiable assessment of individual plants, as well as entire population dynamics. To insure uniform germination, seeds were started in small straw segments and transplanted into modified scintillation vials. Seedlings were selected prior to transplantation to decrease genetic variability. Plants were grown for a total of 24 days in standard laboratory plant growth chambers under controlled conditions. Sequential digital still images were taken on a daily basis. Analysis of these images allowed for the quantification of even minute environmental effect, on growth dynamics whole plants. The data collected provide reliable growth curves against which to compare plants grown in the ERM.
Document ID
20020074588
Acquisition Source
Ames Research Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Bowman, R. N.
(Lockheed Martin Engineering and Science Services Moffett Field, CA United States)
Steele, M. K.
(Lockheed Martin Engineering and Science Services Moffett Field, CA United States)
Sun, S.
Date Acquired
August 20, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2002
Subject Category
Life Sciences (General)
Meeting Information
Meeting: American Society for Gravitational and Space Biology Meeting
Location: Cocoa Beach, FL
Country: United States
Start Date: November 6, 2002
End Date: November 9, 2002
Sponsors: American Society for Gravitational and Space Biology
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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