SPACE AGE TERRA FIRMA
A NASA astronaut and a colonias resident share a common need for two of the human body's necessities - fresh water and vegetables.
Written by Josh Murray
Can you imagine the life of an astronaut in space? Now imagine living without fresh vegetables for many months at a time. Can you imagine living in the balmy region of South Texas? Now imagine living in one of the colonias near the United States and Mexico border, where people live without basic water and sewer systems, paved roads or safe housing. These two lifestyles, a NASA astronaut and a colonias resident, could not be more opposite, and yet they share a common need for two of the human body's necessities - fresh water and fresh vegetables. Texas Tech researchers with the Center for Space Sciences are helping NASA astronauts - who at one end of the spectrum have tremendous technology, and the colonias residents, who have very little comforts of the modern technological world.
For years now, NASA astronauts have pushed the limits of space exploration. They have gone faster and further into space, and in the future astronauts will be looking at extended-stay planetary missions. Surrounded by tremendous amounts of technology that provide for almost their every need, the astronauts still long for fresh vegetables during those extended missions. And along the Texas and Mexico border, more than 340,000 Texas residents live unsafely in colonias, the Spanish word for neighborhood or community.
The technology for delivering both fresh vegetables and clean water is available, and both institutions, Texas Tech and NASA, plan to deliver fresh onions to astronauts and clean water to the South Texans. However complex it may seem, all of the researchers conclude that this project is about delivering optimum conditions for a healthy life.
The Texas Tech Center for Space Sciences headed by James L. Smith, Ph.D., senior associate dean in the College of Engineering said this joint effort with NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston will enter into the second year of study in the fall of 2001.
"NASA came to Texas Tech because they wanted a presence in West Texas and they wanted to utilize the strengths of the University, especially in engineering, agriculture and science," Smith said.
Ellen Peffley, Ph.D., associate professor of plant and soil science, is directing the growth of an onion crop in the engineering development unit, a closed growth chamber similar to one that will accompany the astronauts on long-term planetary missions. Working with Peffley are Cary Green, Ph.D., assistant professor of plant and soil science; Paul Pare, Ph.D., assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry; Leslie Thompson, Ph.D., associate professor of food technology; and David Tissue, Ph.D., assistant professor of biological sciences.
The onion was chosen for its high level of phytochemicals, a compound in the onion that delivers health benefits. Together, the researchers are growing onions in a hydroponic, or soil-less system. The question these researchers must address is this: what happens when the onions are grown under elevated levels of carbon dioxide and salinity with increased light?
Today, Peffley and her team do not have all of the answers, but each day they are closer to finding a solution for this long-term project.
"I'm having such fun. Every time we get one piece of information, the five of us sit down and use that information in five different ways," Peffley said. "And that's exactly what should happen in science."
The science, so far, has grown onions much faster. In fact, with the increased amount of carbon dioxide and increased light, the onions are growing in about half the time it takes on Earth, and surprisingly, the onion's root system shows tremendous growth. Peffley said maximizing the use of the entire plant, roots and all, is part of the challenge.
"NASA has grown tomatoes and lettuce successfully, but they haven’t grown bulb crops," Peffley said. "We’ve discovered that it's not so easy."
Peffley said the engineering development unit is very clever. The researchers set the electrical conductivity, the pH level, and add the basic nutrient solution, but when one of those elements fall below the set standard, the unit restores optimum conditions.
While it may not be easy, the group of researchers has had success with the onion crop. One of the phytochemicals the researchers are examining is quercetin, an antioxidant. Grown under high concentrations of carbon dioxide and light, Peffley expects the onions to contain high amounts of the compound.
"These onions should be a better food," Peffley said. "They will be functional foods with antioxidants that transcend nutrition."
Peffley said on long-term missions, astronauts suffer from depressed immune systems and their bodies do not function as well as on Earth.
"We would like to provide the astronauts with something that has twice the benefit," she said.
School-aged children also will benefit from this research. Peffley said the researchers have spoken to about 350 students about their work so far.
"It's important for students to know that science is fun. NASA is very keen in educating K-12 students," Peffley said.
As for the water issue, Texas Tech engineers are conducting research in five areas including the role of pharmaceuticals in wastewater recycling systems; the use of alternative soaps and detergents used during space missions; the potential for integrated water recovery processes; the need for culturally appropriate water recovery systems in the colonias of South Texas; and an appropriate water recovery system designed for use in Alaska.
Lloyd Urban, Ph.D., P.E., professor of civil engineering; Andrew Jackson, Ph.D, assistant professor of civil engineering; Heyward Ramsey, Ph.D., P.E., associate professor of civil engineering; and Ken Rainwater, Ph.D., P.E., associate professor of civil engineering, are working to develop a water-recovery system to be used in the colonias.
Also working with them is Dean Muirhead, Ph.D., a post-doctoral research associate in the department of civil engineering. He said the role of engineers is important to the success of the project in South Texas.
(Left to Right) Andrew Jackson, Ph.D., assistent professor of civil engineering, Ellen Peffley, Ph.D.,associate professor of plant and civil science, Ken Rainwater, Ph.D., associate professor of civil engineering.
"We are attempting to solve very practical problems. As environmental engineers we have a long history of treating water and wastewater," Muirhead said. "A good engineer will solve the problem at the least cost possible, and this is especially important for low-income communities."
Transferring the technology used at NASA to the colonias appears to be the most urgent.
"The unique thing about this project so far is that we are studying the social and environmental problems within the colonias first," Muirhead said. "Then the technology is born out of those problems."
Muirhead said that most houses in the colonias direct toilet water to cess pools and the gray water from sinks, and showers drip outside through pipes. With a rock reed filter system, technology NASA developed more than 30 years ago, a solution may be apparent for the colonias. The system allows water to flow over a bed of gravel and through plants to absorb waste.
Texas Tech researchers know that they must allow the people of the colonias to maintain their independence for the appropriate water filtration system to ever be successful. Muirhead said that most of the adults in colonias are migrant workers and are gone most of the year to look for work, leaving the older children to care for younger brothers and sisters.
"We want to include the people of Cameron, Hidalgo and Starr counties in developing this technology," Muirhead said. "We're impressed with the energy and talents of the people working in the colonias. They are totally committed to improving the living conditions."
Initially, analysis of the water samples will be conducted at the Johnson Space Center, and later, those samples will be sent to Texas Tech for a more detailed observation.
The Texas Tech engineers' work does not end in the colonias. Muirhead said the engineers will be looking at an alternative to soaps and detergents used during space missions. "Currently the astronauts use a coconut-based soap that dries the skin," he said. "We are going to be looking at some alternative soaps, and how they will affect the waste water treatment process."
And like the scientists studying the plants, the engineers know that collaborating with the science teachers and involving the children of the colonias will be important to application of any type of water recovery system. Muirhead said next summer, plans are underway to bring children to the Johnson Space Center to teach them about the technology.
In the future, it will not be hard to imagine astronauts eating fresh vegetables during a planetary mission, and in the future it will not be hard to imagine everyone in Texas having a fresh water supply because it will be a reality. And it will be a reality because of Texas Tech researchers working side-by-side with NASA to answer challenging scientific questions.
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