Tech Briefs Magazine - September 2021 - 56

APPLICATION
BRIEFS
BioPod Takes One Step Closer to
Life on Mars
Dassault Systèmes
Velizy-Villacoublay, France
www.3ds.com
nterstellar Lab (Paris, France) develops and builds closedloop
sustainable living systems on Earth and in space. The
company focuses on creating space-grade food production systems
and habitat modules for humans. On Earth, solutions
address the current climate crisis and the need for new food
production systems. In space, solutions address closed-loop life
support systems for lunar missions in the context of NASA's
Artemis Program and in the future, for Mars exploration.
Interstellar used Dassault's 3DEXPERIENCE platform on
the cloud to design and develop its first prototype: BioPod.
This controlled-environment food production system advances
its mission to build space-ready stations containing the infrastructure
and resources to support human life sustainably on
Earth, the Moon, and Mars.
I
BioPod maintains precise and specific climatic conditions no matter the
external environment.
The company used the 3DEXPERIENCE platform to seamlessly
collaborate and rapidly optimize and validate its designs.
In one digital environment providing secure and instant access
to the latest project data from anywhere at any time, team
members in France and the U.S. (Culver City, CA) combined
their expertise and used a virtual twin to simulate and test the
performance of BioPod's structure in extreme climates, as well
as that of its biological systems such as the optimal levels of oxygen,
carbon dioxide, and light levels for plants to grow.
" Climate change is a real emergency for Earth and we only
have a small window to bring about positive change. We are
developing a new framework for sustainable living on Earth
and a testbed for future space missions, " said Barbara Belvisi,
Founder and CEO of Interstellar Lab. " The 3DEXPERIENCE
platform enables us to have the most efficient working processes
and avoid reworking designs from scratch. As we progress to
the next stage, the platform's program and project management
capabilities will be invaluable to us for storing and
The pods can generate and recycle food, air, and water to support life for
a group of people in space.
retrieving design knowledge and managing the product lifecycle
effectively. "
The BioPod crop cultivation pod is an environment-controlled aeroponics greenhouse.
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BioPod is an inflatable dome measuring 6 meters (19.7 feet)
wide, 10 meters (32.8 feet) long, and 4.5 meters (14.8 feet)
high that uses composites for the solid technical base and soft
plastic membranes for the main and outer shell. It is designed
to revolutionize food production by combining
advanced crop cultivation technology with predictive
monitoring to grow a diverse array of crops and
plants that would not otherwise survive in a traditional
indoor farming setup.
As BioPod evolves, Interstellar will use the virtual
twin to experience and monitor the dome's operations
and maintenance and gather data around food
production and the environment. The platform will
also facilitate communication with suppliers as the
company designs future modules and scales up manufacturing
and outsourcing as well as enable the
company to create photorealistic renderings from
BioPod's 3D model to communicate its vision.
" Innovators are shaking up traditional industry
dynamics in the race to explore space with new
Tech Briefs, September 2021
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Tech Briefs Magazine - September 2021

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