Easy Hydroponics
Learn to make your own homemade hydroponics system to grow virtually any plant, vegetable and fruit without soil.
General Hydroponics:
Hydroponic Systems:
Hydroponics Growing:
Homemade Hydroponics:
Hydroponic Lights:
PVC Hydroponics:
Space Food - Lunar and Mars Hydroponic Systems
What was just recently science fiction seems to have a very real future up ahead. Lunar and Mars hydroponic systems can provide us with the means to advance and live on a planet other than Earth.
Traveling to the Moon or Mars is one thing, but actually living there for extended periods of time has always been the subject of science fiction, rather than something we actually thought possible. However, recent technologies have been staggering, in that we discovered ways in which we could create actual cities on Mars or the Moon, protected by he harsh environment out there. But there was still the question of local life support…because we can't simply bring in food and water from Earth every now and then, it would be way too expensive. Thankfully, Lunar and Mars hydroponic systems give us no reasons to think they won't work properly.
How Could Hydroponics Be Possible in Space?
The concept behind hydroponic systems fits in perfectly to the idea of living on another planet, in this case the Moon and Mars, since they're our most probable initial destinations beyond Earth. Since the Lunar and Martian soil proves to be too tough and harsh for a plant to grow in, not to mention lacking the required nutrients, hydroponics can avoid this problem easily.
Another exciting aspect of setting up Lunar and Mars hydroponic systems is how they will change these planet's environments. Since plants work on a mechanism that takes in light and trades off oxygen, having a large number of hydroponic systems set up on Mars for example could change its environment dramatically in the long run. The effect that such a dramatic change would have on Earth and other planets in the Solar System is still understudied, but it's an exciting prospect.
Even if we would manage to grow crops in the Lunar and Martian soils, many scientists believe that hydroponics will still be a better choice, due to their low cost, practicability and mobile nature. And Lunar and Mars hydroponic systems might even perform a lot better out there than they do on Earth. That's because on the Moon or Mars, plants don't have to deal with any sort of pests.
What Other Benefits Could There Be?
But hydroponic grow systems aren't helpful on just such long-term goals. NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) reportedly are planning on sending a manned mission on Mars, via the Moon, in the following 2 decades. The trip would be quite long, so the question of food was raised and again, hydroponic grow systems had the solution. The fact that hydroponics can be performed in space as well as the increased growth rate of the plants can prove to be two determining factors for science in the near future.
Admittedly, we can't know what the future brings and we can't say for sure that Lunar and Mars hydroponic systems will ever be viable, or if something better and even more adaptable will come along. Until that better stuff comes along though, all our hopes to living on another plant lay on the field of hydroponic gardening.