Plant Water Management-5 and 6 (PWM-5 and 6)

Providing adequate water and nutrition to plants grown in space is affected by the absence or decreased presence of gravity. Plant Water Management-5 and 6 demonstrates using the physical properties of fluids, such as surface tension and wetting, as a mechanism to provide hydration and aeration for plants. Results could advance understanding of the physical aspects of fluid flow and inform design of fluid delivery systems for reduced gravity environments.

Delivery to the International Space Station (ISS) via the SpaceX-29 Commercial Resupply Service mission in November, 2023.

The Plant Water Management 5 and 6 investigation continues the study of advances in capillary fluidics research conducted on the International Space Station. The goal of the investigation is to demonstrate methods that take advantage of passive measures that can be used to control fluid delivery and uptake in plant systems. This includes using surface tension, wetting, and system geometry to replace the role of gravity as a fluid delivery mechanism. This investigation also demonstrates the extent to which capillary forces may be exploited to control numerous effects on low-gravity plant watering, including: hydroponics, and aeroponics methods considering critical challenges of saturation, de-gassing, aeration, stability, and more. The approach is aimed towards satisfying requirements for fundamental plant science studies for an orbiting or deep space food production system.

Space Station Research Explorer