Ohalo III is a growth chamber currently in production at KSC under NASA supervision. It is designed to demonstrate the potential for crop production on Mars. It gets its name from Ohalo II, the archeological site in Galilee, Israel, where the earliest evidence of plant cultivation was found, dating back to at least 23,000 years ago. The plant remains there are about 11,000 years older than the agricultural revolution. The hope of Ohalo III is that it, like its namesake, will mark a new point in agricultural history, taking agriculture far beyond planet Earth. The mission of this growth chamber is to progress beyond space plant research, and prove the safety and viability of full-scale crop production. It will test the optimization of water usage during long-term missions. Its goals are to maximize space crop harvest in the set space, as well as minimizing crew intervention, as in maintenance, repair, or general operation.
Ohalo III should be capable of supporting a wide variety of crops, mostly referred to as salad crops in the available literature. It can support multiple crops at different points in their life cycles, ensuring steady production of fresh food. This means that, in practice, the chamber can support a nursery area and a production area in the same machine.
The system serves as a prototype for eventual lunar and Martian surface crop production systems, as well as the crop production system that will be on the Mars Transit Vehicle. Ohalo III’s use will allow the transition to long term crop production, overcoming some of the challenges that come with that transition, including water conservation and consistent output. Its tenure on the ISS will help to refine its water delivery technology as well as increase edible plant volume available to the crew.
Ohalo III is currently being developed in the Kennedy Space Center, in Florida. The Project Requirements Review (PRR) was held in February of 2020. This was when the purpose of Ohalo III was solidified, and the project could begin. The Down-Select Review (DSR) was held in August of 2020. This consisted of a review of the feasibility of the project, as well as the prototype’s design. The Preliminary Design Review (PDR) took place in July of 2021, during which the overarching design of the system was confirmed to meet all requirements. The Critical Design Review (CDR) happened in July of 2022, where the design was further refined. The CDR included risk assessment and generally confirmed that Ohalo III was ready to move on to the next stage. The Design Certification Review (DCR) happened in May of 2023, and stated that Ohalo III is capable of completing its tasks under the conditions that it would exist in on the ISS. The Acceptance Review (AR) will take place in August of 2024, which essentially means the production is complete.
The project’s completion should take place in September 2026. This would include Ohalo III being sent up to the ISS and used to grow crops while there.
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Ohalo III takes inspiration from both Veggie and the Advanced Plant Habitat (APH)-- it is enclosed and equipped with many monitors, as in APH, and uses a similar array of LEDs to both Veggie and APH. However, its planting area is twice that of APH at 0.4 meters squared. It contains six modules, each named after a Greek deity: the growth chamber itself (Gaia), two customizable lighting modules (Helios), a water delivery module (Poseidon), and the environmental monitoring and control module (Aeolus), all housed within a support structure (Atlas). The system makes use of modular hardware concepts due to their ease of onboard repair. It is also intended to be expandable, allowing for parts to be changed out and reworked. The monitoring module provides information on plant productivity, allowing for adjustments to be made to the environment as crops grow so as to maximize production. Ohalo III, as shipped to the ISS, will consist of two growth chambers, housed in an EXPRESS rack. It should have an operating life of five years at minimum.