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Current Research
Research in 2008 and 2009 addressed plant responses including seed germination in low atmospheric pressures, at habitable high elevations and colder temperatures.
Local regolith and extra-Terrestrial simulants were the growth media. Heirloom vegetables known to be genetically hardy and cold-tolerant, and opuntia varieties
are central to our research. This crucial research also targets solutions for agriculture is response to global climactic changing.
For further information please contact Dr. Schmitt (this site), or Drs. Konings or Hawk (sponsor's page).
We tested techniques that really work for producing good-sized leafy vegetables suitable for harvesting.
We found hop varieties respond favorably to these techniques. Our parallel research included JSC-1A lunar regolith
simulant amendment with pyrogenic carbon the main ingredient of sustainable anthropogenic Amazon Black Earth (ABE) soil.
In addition to growing food in an off-Earth habitat, we expanded research to include engineering the habitat atmosphere by
creating an extremophile plant (opuntia variety) that can survive on an off-Earth surface known as Noquisi "Star".
Star will be of great scientific potential yet on Earth, extremophile research allows us to explore reintroducing ABE for
high-altitude sustainability agriculture.
Herein we report that our research directly supports an unmanned extra-Terrestrial drone mission, during which Star
is to be placed on the surface of the moon in a special container. It has a >90% chance of surviving one lunar cycle
(~28 earth days).Please reference NASAs Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD) plans of returning to the moon:
Going to the moon is not a redundant undertaking; we are here to support bigger missions and longer stays.
(http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/home/index.html)
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