MRVE Growing Chamber 1

Business Concept Report

Market : The ability to efficiently grow one’s own food as well as filter one’s air in space is a
necessity, and this concept capitalizes on that necessity. The Growing System will be marketed to
advanced, government funded research groups such as NASA and to private industrialists such as
Richard Branson and his company Virgin Galactic, and other personal spaceflight organizations. If
NASA were to become a lead customer, that would facilitate subsequent sales to personal
spaceflight organizations (PSO’s) once NASA’s imprimatur was secured. An alternative approach
would be to sell immediately and directly to PSOs. By providing them with a leading edge, state-
of-the-art technology, PSO’s could in turn include the MRVE Growing Chamber among their
marketing safety claims. For our team, this approach would bypass the budgetary and political
process constraints that accompany dealing with a large governmental agency. It could in fact
result in a more rapid market penetration. Likely, a combination of both strategies will be used.
Additionally, this concept will also be marketed to the "underwater community", such as the NOAA
with Aquarius, an undersea research center.

Value : Relatively speaking, this system is rather inexpensive compared to some of the other
components required for space travel. The system is fully automated, and can be compactly packed,
stored and transported to the future site of a lunar colony to be activated, and can be custom made to
accommodate specific spaces. If, for instance, it were used on a space flight, it would be smaller in
order to provide room for the astronauts as well as the other equipment. However, if this were used
on a lunar colony, it could be vastly greater in size to provide for a higher yield in food, vital gases
for sustained living, and materials for possible lunar businesses. Any party willing to invest in this
concept could expect to see positive gain from their initial investment. Since food, materials, and air
are integral parts of any lunar colony, an investor can expect a constant demand for his or her
products. Because this system uses aeroponics, one can also expect faster plant growth than a
typical geoponic system. This, coupled with the pressure inside the growing chamber, will result in
fast production of food, air, and vital materials. In a matter of months, a lunar colony could
essentially have a flowing economy solely because of this system.

The system will essentially pay for itself in less than one month after setup. Overhead costs will be
minimal since the system is prefabricated and requires nothing more than water, nutrients, and
nominal amounts of electricity, and the occasional replacement of gas removing pellets. (The exact
cost will be explained later in the proposal.) The water and nutrients can either be shipped along
with the initial system, or can be found in the lunar surface (currently, scientists are debating
possible methods of “creating” water on the Moon). The electricity that will be needed can easily be
harnessed from solar panels on a lunar colony or any other type of power system that will be
utilized on the lunar colony.

When presenting this system to clients, it is vital to communicate that the long term goal is to be
part of the seminal efforts of lunar colonization, and that the team is not looking to make a huge
profit. Investors need to understand that the margins on these products are extremely attractive. Of
course, when selling this product to investors, the price will be higher than the cost of making it. As
stated earlier, the cost of producing one of these systems is extremely low. Essentially, the only
items that need to be made are the chemical microsensors used to monitor the gas flow and gas
ratios (O2 to CO2 concentrations), the MRVE material used as the outer casing of the system, and
 MRVE Growing Chamber 2

the pressurization unit that consists of a self-regulating pump and a valve that lets air out if the
pressure is too high. Inside the chamber, there is also a computer that helps regulate the nutrient
levels present in the nutrient solution as well as the as within the chamber. The computer system
also controls a special, UV light that helps eliminate the threat of algae growth or other inhibiting
microbial agents.

The MRVE component of this system maintains a relatively low cost. Magnetorheological (MR)
fluids, used to make the objects rigid, minimally require iron filings, which are priced at around $1
per 100 grams and a small quantity of oil—requiring less than a gallon per Growing System, which
costs between $5 and $10 per pint. The viscoelastic plastic, used to seal the Growing System if it is
punctured, and prevent any water leaks, is not very costly either. Sleep Innovations and Tempur-
pedic are currently using similar technology in their mattresses and pillows. The retail cost of a
Tempur-pedic pillow is around $50, and with a large share of the market, the actual manufacturing
costs are fractional. The only limitation is that the viscoelastic plastic is a petroleum-based product,
and that cost significantly depends and the market, and varies greatly.

The chemical microsensors also maintain a relatively low cost if they are fabricated in facilities that
contain the necessary materials, such as one of clean rooms at the NASA Glenn Research Center, or
other national or private research facilities that can do photolithography and sputtering. Otherwise,
these sensors can be costly, due to the cost of the shadowmasks that are used for photolithography
(around $3000 per mask), the photoresist for photolithography (hundreds of dollars per liter), the
platinum used for sputtering and creating the interdigited electrodes (the current price on the New
York Stock exchange is around $950 per ounce), the alumina or silicon carbide wafers upon which
the sensor sits (around $200 dollars per six-inch wafer), the cost of the chemicals and wires that
enable to sensors to sense (ranging from $50 per liter to hundreds of dollars per liter), the acetone
used to remove the photoresist and extra platinum (around 55 cents per pound), the UV exposure
unit for photolithography (between $35,000 to $40,000 per unit), and the sputtering machine
(between $35,000 to $40,000 per unit), and of course the price for maintaining a clean room, which
is about $120 per hour. All of these prices do add up. However, if our team is able to use a clean
room facility that is already equipped with a sputtering machine, an a UV exposure unit, then the
costs that we only need to take into account are the cost of the chemicals, the alumina and silicon
carbide wafers, the shadowmask, the platinum, and the photoresist.

An emphasis is added on the unique abilities of the MRVE Growing Chamber. This system
produces air, food, and vital materials for a growing lunar colony, it is completely portable, it is
extremely durable and flexible, it can be custom ordered to fit any space, and it pays for itself in less
than one month. The aeroponics unit alone costs about $100 dollars. However, additional costs must
be considered. These costs include the Reverse Osmosis Filter (about $300), the UV Sterilization
Light (about $100), nutrients (about $80), sensors (about $250), gas canister for initial inflation
(optional) (about $75), and the computer system ($300-$800 depending on how many are needed).
In total, this system could cost about $1455-$1955. As expensive as this may seem, it is important
to consider the fact that one can purchase multiple chambers without having to purchase more
computers, filters, UV lights, or nutrients. This essentially makes it more cost-efficient to order
multiple systems to effectively reduce the cost to $850 per unit. This price quote is true for 20 units.
The change in cost per system depends on how many items are bought with the aeroponics unit. It is
recommended to buy another reverse osmosis filter for every 5 additional units added. One UV
 MRVE Growing Chamber 3

sterilization light is needed for every four units. One unit of nutrients will sustain twenty aeroponics
chambers for about two months. By buying the systems in a large quantity, say 20 units, for
example, the price per unit would decrease from $1455-$1955 down to $475-$640. Clearly, this
system is economically ideal for space colonization.

Selling points: Aeroponic growth systems yield larger and healthier plants that will be needed for
moon settlement, and this is the main component of the MRVE Growing System. This system will
also monitor oxygen, carbon dioxide and ethylene concentrations within the chamber, and change
the airflow to allow for healthy plant growth, and prevent early decomposition of the plants.
Further, there water will never leak from this system as it is encased in MRVE, which is a self-
healing material. Moreover, the MRVE within it will enable simpler transport to the moon within
the Orion capsule, as MRVE is a self-erecting structure. Therefore, the Growing System can be in a
compact form when it is in transit. For erection, it only requires a magnetic field. In addition to
simply growing fruits and vegetables needed for healthy astronauts, this system will also "recycle"
the air on a lunar base.

Competitive Reference: In 1999, NASA completed the low-mass Inflatable Aeroponics System
(AIS). This system is similar in many aspects, but it contains many flaws. Primarily, the system
lacks a computer system that accurately monitors the nutrient levels in both the solution and in the
air inside the system. Secondly, the system is not completely sealed like the MRVE Growing
Chamber. By not being completely sealed, a positive and sustainable pressure level cannot be
achieved. This positive pressure gradient is the key in fast plant growth. The pressure aids in faster
water and nutrient uptake by the plants. This essentially "forces" plants to absorb higher levels of
nutrients than they would in the AIS.

Exit Strategy: The MRVE Growing Chamber would be kept within a company founded on the
basis of materials and horticultural innovation. All aspects of the MRVE Growing Chamber are
exclusive rights within the company. Upon founding the company, production can take place on a
small, made-to-order basis. The company will start by making these systems for commercial
farmers within the United States. As demand grows, the company can expand to Europe and Asia.
This expansion will allow for large-scale philanthropy in less fortunate regions by providing an
affordable and efficient way to grow food. For instance, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
(DRC), it is extremely difficult to grow staple food crops such as wheat and corn because of high
volumes of rain, humidity, poor soil, and the dense jungle that encapsulates the nation. The MRVE
Growing Chamber could be brought to cities such as Kinshasa (the capital city) where famine and
poverty rule the lives of everyday people. These chambers could be brought over with UN support
and connected together in large farms. Staple crops could be grown quickly and poverty and hunger
would decrease significantly within one business quarter. Such acts would give our company a
good standing in the world and would allow for further donations from larger companies,
governments, and Non Governmental Organizations (NGO's). After this point, the company will be
large enough to meet production standards and quotas for the inevitable lunar colonization. To
accommodate for the future influx in demand, more factories will be setup within the United States
to meet these demands. The jobs will be occupied by American Citizens to allow for more jobs
within our country and to help our economy.