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The first harvest of the vegetable garden installed in Antarctica
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Friday 06 April 2018
FJ
Scientists-gardeners for this garden on the ice floe. An experiment that could be used in future space missions.
Vegetables on the floe thanks to the greenhouse located near the German research station Neumayer III. Production without land, without natural light and without pesticides, this experiment is conducted in the perspective of future space missions.
The greenhouse consists of a sea container, installed since mid-January next to the station Neumayer III. According to the principles of aeroponic culture, the roots are sprayed with a nutritious mixture, the air is enriched in CO2, the leaves lit by LED lamps.
The first crop totaled 3.6 kg of salads, 18 cucumbers and 70 radishes. Scientists expect production of 4-5 kg (salads, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, radishes, herbs) per week by May.
A leafy vegetable crop had been successful aboard the International Space Station. The experiment in Antarctica aims to cultivate a larger variety of vegetables that could allow in the future to harvest fresh food on other planets (Moon, Mars).
source : eden-iss.net, deutschland.de , huffingtonpost.ca, ledevoir.com
