Many people refer to the 21st Century as the Bio Century as we shift from an industrial economy based on petroleum to one based on what we can grow with all the exciting developments of biotech and life sciences. In this episode we meet a veteran of this shift and an emerging innovator, both working on using the unique environment of space to help humanity adapt.
In this first episode of the Unconventional Growth Podcast, Dan Reus will be interviewing Scot Bryson fromhttps://orbital.farm/ ( Orbital Farm) and Bob Morrow of https://www.sncorp.com/press-releases/snc-astro-garden-tomatoes/ (Sierra Nevada Corp’s LIFE habitat and Astro Garden) projects on an episode discussing Bio Economies in Space and on Earth.
Guest Bios:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/scotbryson/ (Scot Bryson) - Scott is the founder of Orbital Farm, an agritech company developing systems for growing food and creating vaccines in space as well as here on Earth. Scott has started countless companies in his career but has developed an interest in finding solutions to climate change and world hunger.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bob-morrow-77634513/ (Bob Morrow) - Bob is the scientist behind the https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343129660_Plant_Pillow_Preparation_for_the_Veggie_Plant_Growth_System_on_the_International_Space_Station (VEGGIE Plant Growth System) and the https://www.sncorp.com/press-releases/snc-astro-garden-tomatoes/ (Sierra Nevada Corp’s LIFE habitat and Astro Garden). Bob has a thorough background in research for growing food in space and has worked on countless projects all the way from developing LED lights for growing crops as well as microgravity effects on plants.
Show Notes:
Background of Sierra Nevada Corp’s https://www.sncorp.com/what-we-do/life-habitat/ (LIFE Habitat) (4:18)
Astro Garden (4:00)
Background of https://orbital.farm/ (Orbital Farm) (4:43)
Building colonies on Mars and the moon (5:24)
Benefits of testing in microgravity (7:49)
Shoutout from Bob Morrow to Dr. Ray Wheeler, NASA Kennedy Space Center (9:22)
Constraints of testing in space (10:18)
Fundamentals of the Cellular Agriculture industry (12:44)
Growing microgreens and leafy greens in space (13:10)
Characteristics of crops that will be grown in space (13:54)
Current Vertical Farming technology (13:56)
Developing pharmaceutical products in space (19:04)
Optimizing space for research (20:17)
Volume and mass impact of life support systems (21:26)
Ideal customers or agencies to use these life support systems (23:58)
Applying research and and findings in space experiments to situations on Earth (26:19)
Phenotyping testbed research (31:04)
Developing LED lights for growing plants (34:22)
Aeroponics in space (35:18)
Life support systems role in impacting life on Earth (36:08)
Current problems that can lead to more jobs in this field of food in space (44:19)
The experiences and connections that food provide for us all (47:28)
Shoutout from Scot Bryson to Lisa Dyson, CEO of Kiverdi (51:08)
Shoutout from Bob Morrow to Dr. Ray Wheeler, NASA Kennedy Space Center (42:20)
Shoutout from Bob Morrow to American Society for Gravitational Space Research (42:55)
Special thanks to the https://www.danforthcenter.org/ (Danforth Plant Science Center), a founding sponsor for the first episodes, which are being launched by the Yield Lab Institute, a global non-profit think tank for food/ag innovation. The Institute works with innovators and world leading organizations like the UNEP, United Soybean Board, Syngenta, AWS, Cargill, The Maschoffs, the World Wildlife Fund, and others.
Links
https://unconventionalgrowth.org
