The proposed Plant Harvesting Mechanization System (PHARMS) would comprise machinery and controls for semiautomated harvesting of plants grown in a controlled environment. The PHARMS was conceived as a prototype of harvesters to be incorporated into life-support systems of spacecraft and remote planetary bases, wherein plants would provide food and contribute to recycling of air and water. On Earth, PHARMS-like systems could reduce the labor of harvesting plants from protected agricultural systems in which special fruits and vegetables, herbs, ornamental plants, and mushrooms are grown. At harvest time, the PHARMS would be moved from storage to a location near the plantgrowth chamber. There, it would be unfolded from a compact configuration, then prepared for operation by setting of control parameters and mechanical alignment with the chamber and plants. In operation, the PHARMS would pull plant trays out of the chamber and remove plants from the trays. Then it would subject the plants to a variety of other processes, depending on the crop: Examples of such processes include drying, cutting, chopping, stripping of seeds from stalks, threshing, separation of roots from stalks or vines, breaking pods to extract seeds, and pneumatic separation of seeds from chaff.
This work was done by Jeffrey T. Iverson, Chad Ehle, Andrea Hill, and Robert Birnschein of Orbital Technologies Corp. for Kennedy Space Center.
In accordance with Public Law 96-517, the contractor has elected to retain title to this invention. Inquiries concerning rights for its commercial use should be addressed to Thomas M. Crabb Orbital Technologies Corp. 1212 Fourier Drive Madison, WI 53717 Tel No.: (608) 827-5000 E-mail:
Refer to KSC-12143, volume and number of this NASA Tech Briefs issue, and the page number.
