With both scientists and space enthusiasts eyeing up the red planet, Mars, the world is set to enter a new golden age of space exploration. As our ambition grows and we set our sights on even greater accomplishments, getting to Mars is simply one step of a larger plan to explore and settle on a new world. As space stations don’t have a fridge or freezer on board, most of the astronaut’s food is pre-cooked, freeze-dried and vacuum packed.
This makes the food last longer and stay edible in the conditions on-board the space station. To survive both the trip and settle a new planet there’s no escaping the fact that the trip will need food and lots of it. Realistically, any long-duration journeys such as a trip to Mars or setting up colonies on the moon would require a bio-regenerative life support system.
Such a system would enable us to grow our own food and recycle carbon dioxide into breathable oxygen and to be truly self-sufficient on a new planet. Below, we’ve explored the challenges and potential solutions that future space farmers will face in their quest to settle among the stars.
infographic by: www.greenhousepeople.co.uk
