Antarctic agriculture will help scientists grow food in space

Antarctic agriculture will help scientists grow food in space

In 1960 the soilless hydroponic method began to be used, a system in which plants are grown with roots immersed in chemically improved water under a combination of artificial and natural light.

Beginning in that same decade and with the onset of the space race, scientists working for organizations like NASA thought of hostile and extreme Antarctica as a convenient analogue for space exploration, where nations could test space technologies and protocols, including plant production.

Since then, several organizations from different countries have carried out experiments to grow food in the extreme south of the planet with the aim of replicating those investigations in space in the future.