The search for life in space has been going on for a long time. It has been claimed many times that there is water on the Moon, but this has not been confirmed yet. Apart from this, there is neither oxygen nor sunlight there. Despite this, many space agencies are trying to grow plants in space, some have even achieved success in it.
Recently, Indian space agency ISRO also launched SpaDeX mission. Under this, two spacecraft were released 470 km above the earth. The objective of this mission was to connect two spacecraft together i.e. docking. Another update has come regarding this mission. ISRO has said that for the first time it has succeeded in sprouting life in space. Actually, under the mission, ISRO had also sent cowpea seeds on PSLV-C60 POEM-4. Success has been achieved in germinating these seeds within just 4 days. ISRO has said that this plant is expected to produce leaves soon. Now the question is that there is neither air, oxygen, sunlight nor water in space, so how do plants grow in space and who provides water to those plants?
Plants are grown in special chambers
To grow any plant in space, a special type of pillow is designed, i.e. a kind of chamber. This chamber takes the help of LED light and clay to deliver water, nutrients, oxygen and fertilizer to the roots of the plants. Apart from this, artificial nutrients are given to these plants for gravity and sunlight. To compensate for the lack of sunlight, ultraviolet rays are given to the plants.
Why are astronauts farming in space?
Scientists searching for life in space have also been experimenting on farming there for a long time. Among these, China and America are at the forefront. Till now NASA has grown green chillies, spinach, Chinese cabbage and mustard flowers in space. Now the next target of the Indian Space Agency is to grow spinach in space. Actually, the main purpose of growing plants in space is to meet the need of food for long-term missions, because astronauts who work in space for a long time may lack food. Apart from this, by growing plants in space, oxygen can also flourish here, which will also improve the air quality inside the spacecraft.
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