Scientists harvest 1st vegetables in Antarctic greenhouse

BERLIN (AP) — Scientists in Antarctica have harvested their first crop of vegetables grown without earth, daylight or pesticides as part of a project designed to help astronauts cultivate fresh food on other planets.

Researchers at Germany’s Neumayer Station III say they’ve picked 3.6 kilograms (8 pounds) of salad greens, 18 cucumbers and 70 radishes grown inside a high-tech greenhouse as temperatures outside dropped below -20 degrees Celsius (-4 Fahrenheit).

The German Aerospace Center DLR, which coordinates the project, said Thursday that by May scientists hope to harvest 4-5 kilograms of fruit and vegetables a week.

While NASA has successfully grown greens on the International Space Station, DLR’s Daniel Schubert says the Antarctic project aims to produce a wider range of vegetables that might one day be grown on Mars or the Moon.

Comments (0)

This post does not have any comments. Be the first to leave a comment below.


Post A Comment

You must be logged in before you can post a comment. Login now.

Featured Product

XLamp® XP-L Photo Red LEDs – Top Tier Efficiency for Next-Gen Luminaires

XLamp® XP-L Photo Red LEDs - Top Tier Efficiency for Next-Gen Luminaires

XLamp® XP-L Photo Red LEDs deliver a higher class of efficiency for horticulture luminaires. At 83.5% typical WPE at 700 mA, 25°C, the XP-L Photo Red LEDs offer 6% greater efficiency than XLamp XP-G3 Photo Red LEDs. Featuring S Line technology, XP-L Photo Red LEDs offer the best system reliability through switching and dimming cycles with excellent corrosion resistance.