Application of plasma light source in the cultivation of animals and plants in space
Application of plasma light source in the cultivation of animals and plants in space
Illuminating the space dream with plasma light source
The return capsule of the Shenzhou 18 manned spacecraft successfully landed in the early morning of November 4, 2024, setting a new record of 192 days of in-orbit flight time for Chinese astronauts. The most eye-catching thing in this triumphant return is the seventh batch of space science experiment samples returned with the return capsule, including 55 kinds of "space specialties" weighing nearly 70 kilograms, including 24 kinds of life samples including zebrafish culture medium, amino acids, oligopeptides, methanogenic archaea, radiation-resistant microorganisms, lithophytic microorganisms and lichens. In April this year, four zebrafish followed the Shenzhou 18 crew into the Chinese space station, which was the first time that the Chinese space station welcomed aquatic animals.
Over the years, my country has achieved many results in scientific research experiments on plant cultivation in space stations. Planting in space stations can not only better assist ground research and produce food and pure water for astronauts, but also allow plants to absorb carbon dioxide produced by astronauts' breathing and emit oxygen through photosynthesis. It can also help control the humidity in the cabin. Planting in space stations is the most concerned issue in space life sciences.
In 2022, the 120-day rice experiment conducted on the Chinese space station was the first in the world to complete the entire life cycle of rice cultivation from seed to seed in orbit. Zheng Huiqiong, a researcher at the Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, found that the content of glucose and fructose in rice grown in the space station environment was significantly higher than that of ordinary seeds on the ground, basically 5 to 6 times higher. In addition, the starch content is similar, but the composition of starch is different, and the protein content is also higher than that on the ground. If the seeds in the sky are cooked into rice, they should taste very sweet.
She also introduced that growing rice in space is much more difficult than growing it on the ground. First of all, space is a vacuum environment, so growing rice in space must be an artificial environment, that is, growing rice in a completely closed environment. Light, air, and water must all be guaranteed artificially, especially light, because rice needs to photosynthesize. Rice has relatively high requirements for sunlight. We use artificial full-spectrum LEP light sources to grow rice in space, so growing rice in space must go through certain screening and some modifications to the rice so that it can adapt to the artificial lighting environment.
CASM is a high-tech enterprise founded by top experts. Since 2012, it has been committed to the technical application research and development of Light Emitting Plasma (LEP), and has cooperated deeply with many agricultural research institutes to provide different full-spectrum plasma light source solutions for agricultural planting and breeding.
The Light Emitting Plasma (LEP) is very different from LED and other traditional light sources. It uses high-density plasma to excite metal halides, activate atoms and molecules, and release full-spectrum white light comparable to sunlight. It is a continuous spectrum that includes ultraviolet light, visible light and infrared light. The wavelength covers 295-1800nm, and the ratio of red, green and blue spectra is almost the same as sunlight. It can promote photosynthesis in organisms, improve immunity, and has a good bactericidal effect on indoor closed-circulation air. It is called an artificial solar light source and is a new generation of lighting technology.
Three major features of LEP light source:
High reliability - 50,000 hours of continuous use, the light efficiency remains above 80%, and the color temperature remains constant.
High energy saving - in high lumen applications, the cost is lower than LED; the light efficiency is 40% higher than HID.
Really comfortable - the color temperature is consistent with natural light, the color rendering index is as high as Ra95, no flicker, no glare.
