On Saturday January 29th 2011, a Russian cargo ship docked to the International Space Station (ISS). In a move designed to highlight the importance of food production in Space fit for human consumption, an Educational Payload Operations (EPO) greenhouse prepared by Aero Sekur will be initiated on the ISS.

The greenhouse project, funded by the European Space Agency (ESA), involves Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli who will grow Arabidopsis (thale cress) and lettuce seedlings.

The EPO greenhouse activities, including growing seedlings in Aero Sekur’s greenhouse, will be videotaped for use in classroom lectures on ESA’s human spaceflight education pages. Designed to inspire the next generation of mathematicians, physicists, engineers, explorers and other scientists, ESA has distributed educational models to hundreds of European schools.

Aero Sekur’s EPO greenhouse for ESA, used for demonstration purposes on the ISS, was proposed by the company in 2009. The project reinforces Aero Sekur’s position as an innovative SME specialising in flexible structures. The dual purpose of gaining valuable experiences of plant growth in microgravity with terrestrial application was central to the concept.

Aero Sekur has demonstrated strong commitment to AgroSpace, which combines the disciplines of Agronomy and Space. The company’s President, Ing. Silvio Rossignoli, created the term ‘AgroSpace’ in
2004 and, since that date, the company has been a key sponsor of a biennial event understood to be the only forum to bring together world innovators in Controlled Environmental Agriculture. The work of the AgroSpace forum is designed to advance food production techniques to benefit both this world and future generations of Space explorers.

Aero Sekur has invested heavily in the development of Space greenhouses and, supporting this activity, has worked in the fields of aeroponics and hydroponics to grow plants in a controlled, non soil-based environment. The innovative company has a track record in advanced development capabilities using flexible materials. Other projects include a space lifeboat concept to return samples to earth and a vented airbag system tested for the ESA ExoMars programme.

For details of the AgroSpace conference held in 2010 visit www.agrospaceconference.com