In Antarctica, vegetables have been grown without soil — useful in space?
Ways to grow plants extraterrestrially are being tested by scientists in Antarctica, where they have managed to grow vegetables without using soil.
Astronauts currently rely on pre-packaged food on Earth. Fresh fruits and vegetables are rare rarities in their diet. Ideas for growing crops indoors, however, are constantly on the rise. Experiments with extraterrestrial agriculture are going on at best — both with an eye toward long space missions and the establishment of future settlements on the Moon or Mars.
Where is the best place to conduct such trials? In Antarctica! Scientists have set up a free-standing greenhouse at Germany’s Neumayer III Polar Station, part of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research. This is part of the EDEN ISS project, which aims to develop methods for food production on the International Space Station (ISS) and in future extraterrestrial colonies. Researchers are already harvesting the fruits — or rather, vegetables — of their labor here.
Growing vegetables in Antarctica
The icy wilderness of Antarctica is a rather surprising location for a greenhouse, but the isolation, limited resources and harsh conditions provide an excellent simulation of the challenges astronauts will face…
