Development of An Uncrewed ‘Space Garden:’ Considerations for Autonomous and Teleoperated Crop Cultivation in Microgravity

As humanity ventures deeper into space, the cultivation of crops will play a pivotal role in supporting long-term exploration by providing fresh food, oxygen, and psychological benefits to astronauts. To date, the majority of crops grown in space have been flown as part of human-tended experiments within the confines of a space station, and required significant astronaut time, especially for tasks such as sowing and pruning. This work provides preliminary design considerations for ‘Space Garden,’ a mission concept proposed by Aurelia Institute and Heatherwick Studio with two primary goals: to test autonomous horticulture and production of novel, high impact crops in the microgravity environment, and to inspire a new generation of creative architectural design in orbit that emphasizes biophilia and biomimicry in order to recapture the public’s imagination and humanize life in space. To these ends, Space Garden proposes an orbiting, uncrewed greenhouse that will support cutting-edge agricultural research and demonstrates intentionally provocative visual design in the field of space architecture. This paper outlines the technologies, processes, and challenges for uncrewed cultivation of crops within the microgravity environment that the Space Garden project aims to address. A summary of the existing literature will be discussed, alongside current state-of-the-art vertical farming techniques used on Earth that show promise for in-space cultivation. From these gaps, a selection of high-value crops and their specific biome requirements will be identified. Strategies for environmental control and crop cultivation will be proposed, including preliminary sensor suite recommendations and methods for enabling different processes, such as pollination and nutrient recycling, without crew intervention. Finally, a summary of challenges will be presented alongside recommendations and next-steps for modeling, development, and technology maturation that will pave the way for long-term, sustainable crop cultivation for future space inhabitants.