Can Plants and algae be used in spaceflights for oxygen regeneration?

Question

Are some plants more efficient at this than others on converting CO2 back to O2 ?

Is it possible to genetically modify plants to increase their metabolism ?

(just as long as they don't turn into carnivores in search of carbon based life forms lol! )

Answer 1

I don't have the citation for it but there was an extensive study in the late 50s or early 60s that examined the feasibility of not only using algae to scrub CO2 from the air and release O2 but also to utilize to feed the space travelers.  Supposedly a group of Air Force recruits volunteered to eat alge derived food.  All complained of the sickly green color, strong odor and fishy flavor the algae imparted!  The volunteers all lost weight because they couldn't do a good job of digestion of the algae due to the tough cell walls.  It was decided it was too impractical (at that time) to carry enough algae to do the job needed.  New technologies developed at that time to solve the problems of oxygen transport, carbon dioxide removal and food packaging.

Try this link to access the NASA document:  http://www.projectrho.com/rocket/rocket3...

Answer 2

Yeah, they basically fulfill that function on spaceship earth ;)

I'd imagine that all plants will have different metabolic "density" (volume of plant vs CO2 -> O2 conversion rate and that one particular type will be the best - I dunno which one that might be though, but I'd guess ones that are almost all leaves would be a good starting set.

I suppose it would be possible to GM them to grow faster, but they'd need better root systems etc.  So I suppose that a modification that increases the density of chlorophyll / the efficiency of the chlorophyll's function and a more robust root system would be good places to start ...

Answer 3

No, only plants can not generate oxygen unless all abiotic environmental factors are present including sunlight, soil, water, carbon dioxide, optimum temperature etc.