TUCSON, ARIZONA — NASA hopes astronauts will be able to grow their own vegetables on future missions to the Moon or Mars, thanks to a greenhouse project it is working on with the University of Arizona. <br /> <br />The prototype lunar greenhouse is cylindrical. It is 18 feet long and more than 8 feet in diameter. It uses a hydroponic system in which water enriched with nutrient salts flows continuously through the roots of the plants. <br /> <br />The carbon dioxide exhaled by the astronauts can be absorbed by the plants. In return, the plants produce oxygen for the astronauts through photosynthesis. The exchange forms a bioregenerative life support system, according to NASA’s official website. <br /> <br />“The entire system of the lunar greenhouse does represent, in a small way, the biological systems that are here on Earth,” Dr Gene Giacomelli, director of the Controlled Environment Agriculture Center at the University of Arizona, said in a press release. <br /> <br />NASA’s Veggie Plant Growth System was the first fresh-food growth experiment on the International Space Station. The space agency hopes to provide a more sustainable approach to long-term exploration on the Moon, Mars and beyond.
