NASAs technology roadmap notes that self-sufficiency of life support systems is crucial for long-duration exploration missions. Regenerative life support will undoubtedly require food production, to recover nutrients and close the carbon loop in a spacecraft human habitat. Hydrophytes (or aquatic plants) have enormous potential for edible biomass production but have been little studied as potential food crops for space applications. During the STTR phase I investigation, water lentils were found to be 100 % edible (with no inedible biomass), nutritious, and exceptionally fast growing. For this reason, water lentils are gaining recognition as a promising new food ingredient for the rapidly growing plant protein market in the United States.

The phase I STTR µg-LilyPond effort included an investigation into water and nutrient transport by passive capillary pressure and water lentil harvesting by rotary sieve for the micro-gravity space environment. The proposed water and nutrient delivery system provides reliable, self-regulating passive transport via capillary pressure and is the first space technology to allow a liquid-air interface for aquatic plants.

The growth bed not only provides passive water transport but also provides stability, such that the liquid on the bed is resistant to high air flow, vibrations, and shock events. The growth chamber design contains many innovative features that will advance the state of the art in space crop production.