Eden Grow Systems announced the appointment of Dr. D. Marshall Porterfield as the company’s new innovation advisor. Porterfield’s expertise, especially within the  field of agricultural and biological engineering and controlled environment agriculture, is expected to provide Eden Grow Systems with knowledge within the company’s closed-loop, self-sustaining system that provides self-reliance for families and communities where fresh food is not readily available or in the event of disaster.

The company's Genesis System uses a combination of aquaponics and aeroponics to supply enough food, water, power and fuel to support a family of four indefinitely. This makes it possible for every family to become completely independent when it comes to sourcing nourishment. The first module of that system, the Eden Grow Tower, produces a wide variety of crops, as well as fish for protein.

“In working with Eden Grow Systems we are now able to advance the green technologies needed to enable bioregenerative human habitat ion in space, and critically here on our earth for sustainable global agriculture,” says Porterfield. “We have to embrace the advanced concept of bioastronautics if we are going to compete with the Chinese/Russian lunar coalition. Eden Grow is now positioned to be the commercial provider for bioregenerative agriculture systems for the future American lunar outpost.”

Porterfield is a professor of biological engineering & space biophysics at Purdue University and returned to the school after serving as division director for Space Life and Physical Sciences (SLPS) at NASA headquarters in Washington D.C. He oversaw the human research, physical sciences, and space biology programs including research and engineering assets at six NASA centers. During his time, he established the first open science, and advanced integrated omics research programs including NASA Gene Lab and the NASA Twins Study.