It seems like an experiment that could be possible to grow lettuce in Mars. Students at the University of Southampton plan to send a small, pressurized greenhouse to Mars using an aeroponics system. A competition has been held to win the chance to fly with Mars One on its first unmanned Lander mission. The University of Southampton’s bid was the UK’s only finalist. Mars One’s student project is aiming to create a colony on the Red Planet. A public vote will determine the winner. Voting opens now, and closes 31December 2014. A unmanned spacecraft in 2018. will be used to land the winning experiment on Mars. Suzanna Lucarotti, Southampton’s project leader said that “To survive on other planets, we must grow food there.” This has never been done before and it is something we plan to do. This plan, which will bring complex life to another world’s first planet, is technically possible and ambitious. Our plan will bring a bounty of industrial and research opportunities to Southampton by growing plants on other planets. We have overcome diverse engineering problems… The only thing left is to get the public to vote. Janki Shah and Suzanna Lucarotti are joined by Alex Davey, Mate Ravasz (not in the photo), Hector Hamilton, Annabelle Damerum, Janki Shah and Barbara Goncalves. Photo Credit: http://www.lettuceonmars.com/ According to the team: “Our objective is to demonstrate the ability to grow small plants with gases obtained from the Martian atmosphere, with a minimum of material imported from Earth. It is important to prove that plants can survive in a controlled greenhouse and that resources can be managed properly. Electrolysis will produce oxygen from water imported from Earth. The growth chamber will vaporize some water containing dissolved nutrients. Researchers anticipate that the process will take about a month to grow the lettuce. Every day, the cameras inside the chamber will transmit back images and sensor data. As a precaution against contamination, heaters will be turned on to kill any living organisms in the payload after completion. Mars One, a non-profit foundation, aims to create a permanent settlement for humans on Mars.
