You may have seen the Hollywood star, Matt Damon grow vegetables on Mars for survival in the recently released movie, The Martian. It also may have come as a surprise for you. However, for US space agency the NASA, space farming is already a real deal.
In the month of August, on the International Space Station six astronauts became the first ones to have eaten red lettuce, which was grown in the veggie plant growth system at the orbiting laboratory in space. The space agency is funding Bruce Bugbee, who is the director of plants, soils and climate at the Utah University to help in the growth of plants in space conditions.
Currently, they are only focusing on growing a few salad crops including some radishes and lettuce. NASA has explored quite a good number of technologies for its space farming experiments. The plant experiment, known as Veg-01 is being studied to know about the performance of the plant growth facility along with the rooting pillows, which have the seeds.
The first set of pillows were activated and nurtured in May 2014. In October 2014, the plants were harvested and sent back to the Earth for undergoing the Food Safety Analysis. The second set again followed the same process in July 2014.
Fresh food on Space has a great psychological impact on the astronauts. Having the option of eating fresh food may have a very positive impact on the moods of the astronauts. With the technology and the help NASA has, growing plants on the red planet may not be too far a dream.
Image Credit: liquidleds.com.au
