Researchers from the Siberian Federal University (SFU) and the Institute of Biophysics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences have developed a project for a farm consisting of several modules of a station on the Moon that can provide mushrooms to astronauts. The scientists’ work was published in the journal Heliyon.
As part of the Russian lunar program, it is planned to build a manned station on the Earth satellite by 2035-2040. Its arrangement involves building a room for growing food. One of the most promising approaches to its creation is the use of a bioregenerative life support system that works by converting organic waste into a food growing medium.
Russian scientists have proposed a farm project to grow oyster mushrooms. These mushrooms are unpretentious, and the technology of cultivation is quite simple and feasible, without violating sanitary and hygienic standards. Oyster mushrooms contain plenty of protein, some vitamins, and more importantly, significant amounts of antioxidants that soften the effect of charged particles on astronauts.
The farm consists of two modules connected to a greenhouse. The first module prepares the plant material – the substrate – for growing oyster mushrooms. For this, the straw obtained after grinding the wheat in the greenhouse can be used. The scientists note that, in general, any non-food plant waste can serve as substrate components for oyster mushrooms, but depending on their nature, the growth of fungi will have different rates. In the second module, the substrate is placed in the growing pots and mushroom plants are grown on it.
The researchers managed to find the optimal ratio of all conditions for the most productive crop on the farm. However, the yield of fresh oyster mushrooms per square meter of fruit room is 311 grams per day.
One technological cycle for growing mushrooms takes 66 days. When the farm is fully loaded, it is necessary to use 86 kilograms of substrate, from which it will be possible to get 28 kilograms of mushrooms in two months. This will meet the needs of 14 crew members.
At the same time, scientists agree that when creating a farm, it is necessary to take into account the physical conditions on the satellite – less than six times the gravity compared to Earth and an extremely weak magnetic field. Oyster mushroom cultivation needs to be tested on the Moon, emphasizes Sergey Trifonov, Associate Professor of the Department of Biophysics of the Siberian Federal University, one of the authors of the project.
Source: Ferra
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