Centre for Medicinal Plant Health Research
Cannabinoid Research and Development
The Centre for Medicinal Plant Health Research will advance our leading horticultural research program to guide Canada and the world into the next century of medicinal plant research. This is impact research that improves life.
A Good Beginning
March 11, 2020 Indorgro™ Founder, Brad Rubin(left) with Dr. Mike Dixon agree on the next mission
Meet Canada's Rock Star of Plant Research, Dr. Mike Dixon
Dr. Dixon formed the Space and Advanced Life Support Agriculture (SALSA) program at the University of Guelph. This program currently represents Canada’s main contribution to the international space science objectives in biological life support and collaborates with NASA, Canadian Space Agency and European Space Agency. The technical “pull” of space exploration has aided the development of a wide range of technologies that have spun off into applications in terrestrial agri-food sectors and most notably the phyto-pharmaceutical (medicine from plants) sector in recent years.
Canadian Space Agency Deep Space Food Challenge
Ground Demonstration of Plant Cultivation Technologies for Safe Food Production in Space
Ground Demonstration of Plant Cultivation Technologies for Safe Food Production in Space
A University of Guelph entry in the Deep Space Food Challenge has advanced to Phase 2 of the international contest, which aims to find new ways to grow food in space.
The University of Guelph entry, called Canada GOOSE, or Growth Options for Outer Space Environments, is a controlled environment plant growth chamber designed to push the boundaries of high-density crop production yielding a variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, and mushrooms complete with power and water supply. Exploiting uniquely Canadian controlled environment technology and expertise, this design innovates ways to achieve homogeneous conditions within a high-density production system. While meant to address the supply of fresh nutritious food for astronauts, the chamber could be installed in remote areas or harsh environments to improve food security around the world.
Ground Demonstration of Plant Cultivation Technologies for Safe Food Production in Space
Ground Demonstration of Plant Cultivation Technologies for Safe Food Production in Space
Ground Demonstration of Plant Cultivation Technologies for Safe Food Production in Space
Controlled Environment Systems Research Facility (CESRF) at the University of Guelph, began as a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Collaborative Research and Development funded project (NSERC-CRD) in collaboration with the aerospace and greenhouse sectors. It has since evolved into a research program that has state-of-the-art capacity in controlled environment studies and those related to biological life support for space exploration. The CESRF was responsible for the integration of the nutrient delivery system of the EDEN ISS greenhouse facility, and contributed to the power control, command, and data handling subsystems.
Tomatosphere™ - Sowing the seeds of discovery through student science
Ground Demonstration of Plant Cultivation Technologies for Safe Food Production in Space
Tomatosphere™ - Sowing the seeds of discovery through student science
Success germination echoes the success of Tomatosphere™, an ongoing STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) project founded by Dr. Mike Dixon and retired Canadian astronaut Bob Thirsk and other partners that has sent tomato seeds to space for two decades Space agencies around the world are working to send humans to Mars. Since bringing enough food for a mission lasting two to three years would be too expensive and impractical, astronauts will have to grow their own healthy food while in space. In the closed environment of a spacecraft, plants grown on board can make a huge contribution to life-support systems. Plants can provide food, produce oxygen, and recycle carbon dioxide and some organic waste.
In Collaboration With
