Autonomous Platform for Phyllosphere Monitoring in Space Habitats

Advanced Growing Resources (AGR) proposes an autonomous platform for monitoring plant health in space habitats that addresses NASA's need for continuous environmental sensing with minimal crew intervention. The system integrates four key technologies: an embedded hyperspectral imaging system, canopy monitoring module, tunable broadband luminaire, and unified AI transformer model for early detection of crop afflictions. The core innovation is a "smart light" that represents a paradigm shift from "sample and wait" with wet chemistry testing to "scan and act" by creating an early detection system that detects pathogens, nutritional deficiencies, and water stress days before visual symptoms appear. In field trials, the technology demonstrated 97% accuracy in diagnosing powdery mildew 8 days before visual symptoms were apparent in addition to water and nutrient stresses. The Phase I funding will be used to develop and validate the four key components of the system, culminating in a TRL 5 greenhouse demonstration. Specific objectives include adapting hyperspectral imaging technology for early detection of crop afflictions in space, developing unified AI models for comprehensive crop health monitoring, enhancing our Spectre spectroscopy technology for space applications, and developing a tunable broadband luminaire. The technology aligns with NASA's top Civil Space Shortfalls while supporting Key Science Questions from the 2023 BPS Decadal Survey. Beyond NASA applications, the technology has significant commercial potential in the $4.2 billion global crop monitoring market, which is expected to reach $17.2 billion by 2034. Initial target markets include grape producers, with plans to expand into row crops and citrus production. This technology will improve food security both in space and on Earth by enabling reliable crop production through early disease detection, minimizing crop loss, and maximizing resource utilization in environments where resources are limited.