Fresh vegetables to get to Mars

Have your parents ever told you the importance of eating vegetables? Now you can remember it. Scientists from Russia are working on a new type of greenhouse. It would provide fresh herbs and vegetables to the cosmonauts. The development will be indispensable even in inhabited lunar bases or in flights to distant planets. This way they will have fresh vegetables to get to Mars.

Moscow State University says so. “Our greenhouse can be used in weightless conditions on any spacecraft with habitable compartments.” This was said by researcher Anastasia Gross.

A greenhouse is being developed to have fresh vegetables to reach Mars.
A greenhouse is being developed to have fresh vegetables to reach Mars.

Easy to assemble

It stands out that its uniqueness lies in its modular structure. “The individual blocks can be assembled and disassembled like a builder.” The system is highly autonomous and crew involvement is minimal. It can be used not only in space, but also in the Arctic, for example.

The greenhouse allows you to grow any plant up to 30 cm high. For example, peas, dwarf varieties of tomatoes and peppers, microgreens and others, the specialist details. «We want to make sure that all the plants are diverse, even visually. “Diversity is important to keep the psychological state of astronauts healthy.”

Supplies from Earth will not be able to provide the cosmonauts with entirely fresh food. That’s why it’s necessary for something edible to grow on the ISS. «Products that have been in a cosmodrome for a long time are exposed to radiation, temperature, vibrations. Therefore, fresh products are always a winning option,” he adds. In the so-called plant house each is stored in individual sealed boxes. They are not airtight, and the plants would receive the same oxygen that the cosmonauts breathe in the habitable compartment.

This would allow us to reach Mars with a balanced diet.
This would allow us to reach Mars with a balanced diet.

lunar bases

«The doors can be opened freely. They are necessary to protect plants from external damage and maintain constant humidity and temperature. The cosmonauts can open the doors and work with the plants, without them suffering any damage,” he clarifies. Fresh vegetables to get to Mars would also be suitable for long-range missions. For example, the construction of a base on the Moon or a mission to Mars.

“The tests allow us to simulate flight conditions even to Mars,” confirms the researcher. These devices could work for a long time, and if something breaks, cosmonauts can easily repair it. «The design of the greenhouse is very simple. It does not require special repair knowledge,” he says.

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