Modern Mold & Tool Injection Molds Device to Grow Vegetables on International Space Station
A customer's patented, NASA-partnered device for growing vegetables in zero gravity relies on injection molds and plastic parts from Modern Mold & Tool.
One of Modern Mold & Tool's customers received a U.S. patent for its injection molded device designed to grow vegetables in zero gravity aboard the International Space Station. Modern Mold & Tool designed the injection molds to meet NASA's testing requirements for the product and molds the plastic parts required for the assembly.
Engineering for zero gravity
The device was designed in partnership with NASA. It needed to be "passive" — requiring no energy to work. Making it function meant using natural forces and solving the problem of fluid dynamics in zero gravity. Designing the device so it could wick water to the roots was critical.
Fresh vegetables in orbit
With space crews staying in orbit longer and longer — even eclipsing a year — access to fresh vegetables becomes very important. Astronauts usually eat freeze-dried meals prepared at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. With the new device, astronauts can now grow three types of lettuce as well as zinnia flowers, and hopefully cherry tomatoes soon.
If the latest rounds of testing go well, the device will be classified as approved equipment by NASA and see real use aboard the ISS — and hopefully in deep space.
