Location: Environmental Microbial & Food Safety Laboratory
Project Number: 8042-42000-021-031-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Feb 1, 2024
End Date: Sep 15, 2024
Objective:
The objective of this project is to develop and test a new, advanced multimode imaging system that will help monitor the health and safety of plants grown in space environments, specifically for NASA. The main aim is to create a compact, automated system that can detect plant stress early using edge computing technology. This system will use both reflectance and fluorescence imaging in the visible and near-infrared (VNIR) spectrum (400–1000 nm) and promises to be a revolutionary tool for assessing plant health in space. A key phase of the project involves constructing and testing this system at the University of North Dakota's Inflatable Lunar Habitat (ILH), which has a rigid frame enclosed by an inflatable bladder, creating a perfect simulation of space crop production conditions. The successful deployment of this system could significantly enhance the sustainable cultivation of crops in space.
Approach:
Key components of the prototype system include two LED line lights for VNIR broadband and UV-A (365 nm) illumination, a line-scan hyperspectral camera, and a linear motorized stage with an 80 cm travel range. This arrangement allows for the sequential acquisition of reflectance and fluorescence images over the plants in a single cycle of line-scan imaging. The system software will be developed to facilitate hardware parameterization, data transfer, and automated imaging analysis. Cooperator will design a new illumination system with optimized weight, size, and functionality that supports multimode imaging capabilities. We will design a software prototype with the ARS team for gathering data and analysis. We will build a replicate system at USDA-ARS and Kennedy space center in the University of North Dakota and make it operational for space ag research purpose.
