Integrated Plant and Animal Habitat

The Integrated Plant and Animal Habitat (IPAH) will allow monitoring of the gaseous and liquid exchanges between sealed plant chambers and a sealed animal chamber on Space Shuttle or Space Station.

By grappling with the biological and engineering problems of combining plants and animals, scientists and engineers will acquire a host of new insights and test novel ideas that will contribute ultimately to a more accurate understanding of plant-human interactions in closed environmental systems. From the point of view of animal-based science, the IPAH promises the capabilities that will enable a variety of otherwise unattainable, yet needed studies related to organism metabolism and other homeostatic processes. The technological advances derived from the IPAH: 

• emphasizing simultaneous monitoring of gases,

• moving and measuring fluids,

• regulating light, and

• controlling temperature and humidity

bring an advance in spaceflight hardware that is particularly well-suited for many kinds of scientific studies that have been previously unavailable.

CO₂ Control: ............................................................................................................................................................. 300-2000 ppm

Ethylene Removal:....................................................................................................................................................... to 5 ppb goal

Chamber sizes (approximate)

• Replenishable CO₂ supply

• Replenishable CO₂ scrubber

• Regenerative H₂O recovery loop

• Replenishable and metered H₂O supply

• Replenishable rodent food supply

• Menu-driven interface with user-defined displays

• Metering of nutrient supply and condensate recovery

• Gas/fluid sampling

• IR/color video

• Root module and waste collection module changeout

• Internet and remote operations