Health, Wealth, Wisdom & Fun

Link: http://www.billboardmama.com/hydroponics-and-martians-omelet-what-do-they-have-in-common-p-404.html

Let me inform you, if you were marooned on the space station for six months and had craving a Denver omelet, hydroponics would help you.

But let's go back a bit. First off, what is this Hydrowhatchamacallit? Eventhough we are accustomed to seeing plants cultivated in soil, they do not necessarily require soil to thrive. Hydroponics is a method of breeding plants which applies water and dissolved nutrients. Hydro means water, ponos means labor. Essentially, hydroponics therefore means "working water". There is a totally grocery aisle of benefits to hydroponics farming.

First, the absorption of nutrients is hastened by cultivating in water. The growth rate of a soil plant is 30-50 percent slower than in a hydroponics plant grown under similar conditions. This makes for plentiful yields (more!) over less time and utilizing less space. The needed nutrients are delivered right to the plant by the hydroponics systems. Therefore, roots don't spread as wide as they do in soil. Scientists think that the growth rate of hydroponically grown plants is better because the plants don't need to hunt in the soil for the nutrients it requires and this saved energy lets them hasten growth and increase production. Pretty cool.

Martian eggs, anyone?

You got that right. Ways for space station astronauts and eventually planetary colonizers to cultivate their own food is in the works by NASA for numerous years. Since there is no economic or viable way for them to take 3 years of food stuff with them, it has become a necessity. In space, where longer term life will have to be sustained as we venture out further and further, hydroponics demonstrates to be the most able means to generate fresh foods. The mass of the supplies that need to be taken with them outside Earth will be cut down significantly. Colonists will need to use more efficient agricultural strategies than those on Earth because space is at a premium in outer space colonies. Plants grown hydroponically are oftentimes larger and healthier than plants grown naturally, even though hydroponics doesn't need soil and requires less space than natural means. Also a cleaner method of growing plants than soil-based systems is hydroponics. It is also considered that dirty water produced by the astronauts could be cleaned by recycling it through a plant system.

Tired of the techie matters? What would they possibly eat?

As long as they possess the seeds and the space to plant, astronauts can definitely cultivate anything their tummies want. Fruits. Herbs. Vegetables. Anything. So what we'll have are satisfied, fit astronauts with many green, yellow and red food from home to keep their stomachs cheerful. Thank heavens for hydroponics.