Astronauts are about to eat green vegetables grown in space

While we hope to one day be able to settle on other planets, astronauts always need more nutrients than instant foods packed and brought from Earth.

Not only is it related to the nutritional value of fresh produce, NASA is also interested in growing plants in outer space . Researchers believe that astronauts will also be psychologically and physically improved from farming.

Cultivation not only helps improve meals but also improves the psychology of astronauts.

To solve this problem, NASA has partnered with researchers at the University of Arizona to design a dedicated greenhouse that can be deployed and installed quickly in space, capable of providing astronauts. a sustainable amount of fresh vegetables.

The prototype of the greenhouse was built as a "life support biological system" - capable of recycling air, waste and water. When astronauts breathe, they release carbon dioxide, while plants use it to make oxygen through photosynthesis. Water flows through the roots and returns to a reservoir, where it is oxidized and fortified with a continuous cycle.

To avoid radiation, greenhouses are likely to be buried underground, and therefore will need an artificial light source.

The environment in the greenhouse is modeled on the demand of green soup on the earth.

Gene Giacomelli, director of the Center for Controlled Environmental Agriculture at the University of Arizona, said: "We are trying to imitate what trees will have if they are on Earth and use these processes. to support life, the whole system of greenhouses represents biological systems on Earth. "

One of the main goals of future space travel is to transport as few goods as possible by using things found on the way, a principle called on-site resource use.

It is very expensive to launch a rocket so reducing the load of goods will make the cost cheaper. NASA hopes to collect life supplies such as water from extraterrestrial regions instead of carrying it.

Going further, researchers will use the same greenhouse prototype to determine if the grown product can maintain the ability to provide a group of astronauts for a long time.