Advanced Certificate in Space Agriculture Food Systems

• Space Agriculture Infrastructure: This unit will cover the design and development of space agriculture systems, including hydroponics, aeroponics, and controlled-environment agriculture. It will also include discussions on the selection of crops for space agriculture and the optimization of plant growth in microgravity environments.

• Space Crop Science: This unit will explore the biological and genetic factors that influence crop growth in space, including the effects of microgravity, radiation, and other space environmental factors. It will also cover the breeding and selection of crops for space agriculture and the development of new crop varieties that are better suited to space environments.

• Space Food Processing and Preservation: This unit will cover the techniques and technologies used to process and preserve food for long-duration space missions. It will include discussions on food irradiation, vacuum packaging, and other preservation methods, as well as the design and operation of space-based food processing systems.

• Space Nutrition and Health: This unit will explore the nutritional and health needs of astronauts during long-duration space missions, including the impact of microgravity on bone density, muscle mass, and cardiovascular health. It will also cover the development and testing of space-based exercise equipment and nutritional supplements to maintain astronaut health during space missions.

• Space Agriculture Systems Modeling and Simulation: This unit will cover the use of computer modeling and simulation tools to design and optimize space agriculture systems. It will include discussions on the use of computational fluid dynamics, finite element analysis, and other modeling techniques to simulate the behavior of crops, nutrients, and other factors in space agriculture systems.

• Space Agriculture Robotics and Automation: This unit will cover the role of robotics and automation in space agriculture systems, including the design and operation of automated hydroponic and aeroponic systems, crop monitoring and harvesting robots, and other advanced automation technologies.

• Space Agriculture Policy and Economics: This unit will explore the policy and economic issues related to space agriculture, including the development of regulations and standards for space-based food production, the allocation of resources for space agriculture research and development, and the potential market opportunities for space-g