Integration and Validation of Mushroom and Algae into an Agent-based Model of a Physico-chemical and Bioregenerative ECLSS

Research on bioregenerative life support systems has focused on individual subsystems that often struggle to produce all the required consumables to support the crew. Different biological systems (e.g., algae, higher plants) perform differently and approaches that integrate multiple types of organisms such as BIOS, MELiSSA, and the Lunar PALACE have seen greater success. Furthering this integrative trend, the modeling and design a Fully Integrated Bioregenerative Life Support System (FI-BLSS) utilizing separate yet connected biologically based subsystems was completed to enhance closure and optimize system output. The project sought to integrate mushroom and aquaculture subsystems to provide additional sources of edible biomass (especially proteins) with focus placed on maximizing the remediation and recycling of inedible biomass.

The project had three sequential goals, the first two of which are described in this paper. First, a review of existing published literature informed the conceptualization and modeling of the system at multiple levels. Second, mushrooms and algae were modeled and validated through a series of experiments. These experiments examined the two cultures individually to inform a program, which was then used to design a combined system to provide validation. Agent-based modeling was selected for this project due to its direct relationship with the expected operational interfaces.

The model developed through this research can accurately evaluate an integrated bioregenerative life support system. It is envisioned for use by future researchers, educators, and the public to further the research and as part of an existing outreach tool. This tool is supported through a collaborative effort between the National Geographic Society and the developers of the agent-based modeling program Scalable, Interactive Model of an Off-world Community (SIMOC). SIMOC has already been used in several classrooms and the results of this research project will expand and enhance the existing tool and outreach effort.