Lumen Waite 100 - Flipbook - Page 51
compounds. However, the conventional growth pace of
plants, particularly field crops, poses a significant challenge
to this method. “If your plant takes four or five months to
go from seed to seed, it takes you forever,” Jenny says.
“THE CHALLENGE IS TO PRODUCE
A NO-OR-LOW-ALCOHOL
PRODUCT THAT PROVIDES A WINELIKE EXPERIENCE WITHOUT THE
DOWNSIDES OF ALCOHOL.”
Duckweed became a logical focal point for its small size
and entirely edible composition, and because it is capable
of continuous growth, high protein production, and is
adaptable to indoor environments. Beyond growth speed,
duckweed’s rich composition of essential amino acids
makes it a potent protein source, allowing for continuous
growth and up to 60 times more protein production
compared to traditional crops like soybean. Jenny says this
makes it a suitable consideration for space exploration.
- ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR PAUL GRBIN
so the astronauts would start to lose weight. So there’s a lot
of interest in trying to grow plants as you go.
“Space is the ultimate in sustainability when you’re
thinking about producing things; you can only use
the resources you have there and you have to recycle
everything because you can’t get more of anything. And
that’s a really good way of thinking about the on-Earth
applications, because it really inspires you to problem solve
for sustainability in the space context. And we can use that
learning to help us inform what’s possible on Earth.”
The challenge of sustaining humans on a trip to Mars
prompts the exploration of growing plants in space. With
weight limitations and addressing nutrient degradation and
monotony of packaged food, alternatives become critical.
Jenny encourages students to look to the environment in
space as the ultimate experience in food sustainability,
which can help prompt vital innovations.
“You can’t take all the food you would need to carry with
you on a trip to Mars. For a nine-month return trip for four
people, you’d need something like 10 tonnes of food,” she
says. “But also, they get bored of the brown sludgy meals
they end up eating, and the nutrients degrade over time and
For a tiny plant, the research into duckweed and other
plants just like it proves that with a little innovation and
focus on sustainability, the next game-changer could be
hiding within the labs at Waite.
LUMEN
