Space & Astronomy

New project aims to grow lettuce on Mars

By T.K. Randall
December 30, 2014 ·  14 comments

Growing vegetables could help to sustain future astronauts living on Mars. Image Credit: NASA The ambitious University of Southampton project aims to grow the vegetables inside a special greenhouse module that will be equipped with seeds, water and nutrients along with systems for monitoring and atmospheric processing.

The carbon dioxide needed to keep the plants alive would be extracted from the atmosphere of the planet itself while the water and nutrients would be sprayed on at regular intervals."This plan is both technically feasible and incredibly ambitious in its scope, for we will be bringing the first complex life to another planet," said project leader Suzanna Lucarotti.

"Growing plants on other planets is something that needs to be done, and will lead to a wealth of research and industrial opportunities that our plan aims to bring to the University of Southampton."

The concept has been shortlisted along with nine other university projects being considered for inclusion in the first ever Mars One mission currently scheduled for launch in 2017.

Source: Yahoo! News | Comments (14)

Tags: Mars, Lettuce