Scientists are trying hard to learn more about the red planet and see if there are minute possibilities of harbouring life out there. NASA's Curiosity Rover is one of the instrumental projects to research on the surface of Mars. As research is being driven in the directions, it has occurred that there is a plan for growing greens on Mars. The German Aerospace Center (DLR) announced that the Antarctica greenhouse gives a positive signal.

EDEN ISS is the Antarctica greenhouse project, plant breeding experiment but in a more controlled environment. It is a closed cycle in which all water not contained in the fruits and plants is reused. It is an intensive process taking care of sowing and harvesting. Scientists have been able to grow a considerate amount of vegetation. They have harvested 35 kilograms of cucumbers, lettuce (39 kg), tomatoes (17 kg), kohlrabi (7 kg) and radish (4 kg) from about 13 square meters.

The process is not easy given the extreme temperatures in the region. The temperature goes as low as minus 45 degrees Celsius during the night time. The high tech greenhouse, however, manages to control it for the plants to grow. The vegetation was started in the month of April and the results are seen from the end of May.

With successful vegetation carried out in such extreme environments, scientists are hopeful that such a development could be executed in the outer space, on an altogether new planet. These valuable insights could be used to plant greens on not just Mars but also on our satellite, moon. The earth is undoubtedly the best in terms of resources, with maximum population dependent on agriculture but with the idea of life and settlement explored in the outer space, such research provides important insights.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 26, 2018 12:18 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).