Engineering concepts for inflatable Mars surface greenhouses

Plant bioregenerative life supports: The Italian CAB Project

“…A preliminary functional specification and architecture for the CAB system has been defined, as part of a planetary human base (moon/Mars) (Schwartz et al 1994, Lasseur et al 1996, Paille et al 1999, Sridhar et al 1999, Hublitz et al 2004, Garland 2007, Teixeira 2007. A higher plants growth facility has been considered as the core biological element of CAB.…”

“…However, the use of natural light is to be explored. The utilization of visible solar light collectors could make a significant increase in the efficiency of the system when compared to solutions converting sunlight into electric power by means of solar panels and then producing light via electric lamps (Hublitz et al 2004). On the other hand, it has to be noted that the distance from the sun and the powder storms in the case of the surface of Mars, and the long night duration in case of the Moon base, drive the choice towards hybrid systems, using both natural and artificial light.…”

“…For this reason light and affordable tanks will be needed in future planetary bases. The possibility of using inflatable materials to build recycling tanks could be an optimal solution in terms of launch mass and volume and should be investigated (Hublitz et al 2004). …”

Performance of Phaseolus vulgaris under partial root-zone drying cultivated in a hydrogravitropic system response

“…Incluida esta última discrepancia, la agricultura también representa la actividad imprescindible para la producción de alimentos; y gracias a los continuos avances en técnicas agronómicas, la supervivencia de la especie humana puede extenderse hacia otras fronteras (Morrow et al, 1994;Ferl et al, 2002;Monje et al, 2003;Hublitz et al, 2004;Baratto et al, 2005;Brinckmann, 2005;Guo et al, 2008;Kiss et al, 2009;Thomas, 2014;Dauzart et al, 2016). Por otro lado, la agricultura bajo riego representa la actividad más "sedienta" de nuestro planeta (York et al, 2013); y en este sentido la FAO (2015) ha expresado que, si no se introducen cambios transcendentales en los patrones de producción, para el año 2050 la escasez de agua en varias zonas del mundo amenazará la seguridad alimentaria y los medios de subsistencia.…”

Design of a Deployable Structure for a Lunar Greenhouse Module

“…Hublitz et al [43] discuss the design of a semi-cylindrical inflatable structure for use as a low-(30 kPa) or high-pressure (59,2 kPa) greenhouse module. Furthermore, the authors examine the impact of using natural, hybrid or artificial lighting on the Equivalent System Mass (ESM) of the design.…”