Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Scientists Harvest First Vegetables in Antarctic Greenhouse (apnews.com)

Posted by msmash on from the moving-forward dept.

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. From a report: 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.

16 of 83 comments (clear)

  1. Did they grow iceberg lettuce? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Fucking penguins got in and destroyed all my beans....

  2. Has been done before. by 140Mandak262Jamuna · · Score: 5, Funny

    I saw a documentary that showed an astronaut growing potatoes in his own crap. So it looks like it is has been done before. Why repeat it on earth all over again?

    --
    sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
    1. Re:Has been done before. by 140Mandak262Jamuna · · Score: 4, Insightful
      What? Someone wrote a science fiction story not involving light sabers, extra sensory perception, psychic communications, hyperspace, teleporter, talking computers, sentient robots, space shifting aliens, huge red/orange hydrocarbon explosions in deep space, energy cannons with recoil, space craft doing a banking turns through vacuum ...

      And Hollywood plunked down money and actually made a movie of that thing! You couldda knocked me down with a feather buddy! Who would have thunk it is possible!! No wonder I mistook it for a documentary.

      --
      sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
    2. Re: Has been done before. by fezzzz · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Antartcica is one of the least disturbed places on earth with an immense magnifying glass of the impact we humans have on the continent. I overwintered in 2006 and 2007 on SANAE base in teams 45 and 46. Everything that goes in, must come back and the risks of contamination, even though remote, prohibited any growing of anything. No chicken bones were part of the food due to the risk of chicken flu for the bird colonies. Regardless of the laws, in a team of 9 members, with no access to the outside world, the team actually decides on the laws for the year. We may or may not have grown something to smoke, made a braai in the kitchen or used the fire extinguishers to fizz our drinks.

  3. Salad Greens? by jellomizer · · Score: 2

    I would expect they would try to grow more calorie per kilogram vegetables then Salad Greens. Sure in industrialized areas, Salad Greens are nice for fillers, because we have no food shortages, so we like the crunch and the fact it will fill us up without extra caloric intake. But in Antarctica, I would put more effort into growing foods that will better sustain the people there, because getting food delivered is expensive and hazardous.

    --
    If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    1. Re:Salad Greens? by Headw1nd · · Score: 5, Informative

      Calories are usually not the issue overall, as high-caloric foods tend to be easy to transport and store. The issue is more nutrient-rich foods and the bulk items needed for healthy digestion.

  4. Where? What? by Bearhouse · · Score: 4, Informative

    Since the linked-to AP article is mostly just a picture, with nothing on the tech., here you go:

    https://phys.org/news/2018-04-...

    http://www.dlr.de/dlr/en/deskt...

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

    Pretty cool, but maybe not space & cost effective on a spaceship.

    1. Re:Where? What? by Headw1nd · · Score: 2

      I think part of what they're working on is optimizing yield against space and weight of materials, since these are also concerns in Antarctica. I also imagine fresh vegetables would be a premium item down there, especially in winter.

  5. Re:OMG Global Warming! by Train0987 · · Score: 2

    Thank you comrade! Your secret mission to make Democrats look even dumber has been a huge success!

  6. Re:Food from air! by Waffle+Iron · · Score: 4, Informative

    The term "pesticides" also includes herbicides and fungicides.

    If your life depends on successfully growing a monoculture over several years in a sealed tin can, you might need to at least consider having some fungicides on hand. Not to mention, some mites are almost microscopic. Without any natural predators, one pair slipping through might also ruin your day.

  7. Re:Rocket Science by ColdWetDog · · Score: 2

    Not only that, but hydroponically grown vegetables in Antartica have been grown for quite a while as well:

    http://www.spaceref.com/news/v...

    Date on the article: 2004

    Come on Slashdot. I know this isn't a breaking news site but ....

    --
    Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
  8. Antarctic? by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 3, Funny

    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.

    Only -20C? They should try their experiment in Canada, where we have real winters, eh?

    --
    #DeleteFacebook
  9. Re:Rocket Science by bigwheel · · Score: 5, Interesting

    " by May scientists hope to harvest 4-5 kilograms of fruit and vegetables a week

    Could you do that?"

    Yes. I grew up on a small farm that produced several truckloads of vegetables every week. And yes, we started them under grow lights and greenhouses while there was snow on the ground. My father did this with only an 8th grade education.

    Given enough space, heat, and lighting, 10 pounds of vegetables isn't very much. Looking at TFA, the scientist didn't look like he was working in a crammed environment, compared to any other greenhouse. Forgive me for being dismissive, but it's been done before.

  10. Re:Rocket Science by bigwheel · · Score: 2

    "How much space do you need?"

    Look at the picture in TFA. Take the amount of space in the photo, and divide that by the number of plants you see. If you do this carefully, you will notice that the room is quite spacious, compared to most greenhouses.

    If TFA showed how the scientist created technology that can grow lots of vegetables in a tiny area, it might be impressive. But based on the article and photo provided, the scientist achieved about as much as a kid in a 4-H project.

  11. Re:Rocket Science by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 2

    How much space do you need?

    It doesn't really matter, since space is infinite.

    --
    #DeleteFacebook
  12. Re:Rocket Science by Firethorn · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I think that what has happened here is that a fluff piece was written about a greenhouse that is performing actual science, but the science part was lost as it went over the head of the reporter.

    It looks like they're testing various aeroponic setups, and might even be testing different strains of various plants.

    Plus, while we know how to do it, they may be going for more exact numbers. How many days and hours? How much artificial light? What temperature? How much water? Etc...

    The fact that it gives the scientists and workers down there fresh produce is a bonus.

    --
    I don't read AC A human right