German research team succeeded in cultivating vegetables without using soil and sunlight at Antarctica

In order to raise vegetables to be food, we need soil and sunlight to plant and cultivate seeds, and it is impossible to cultivate crops on land covered with snow and ice due to extreme cold like Antarctica. Even in such an environment, the German research team is developing technology to cultivate vegetables, and we have succeeded in actually harvesting crops such as lettuce, aquarium, radish.

Scientists grew the first vegetables in Antarctica without soil or sunlight - Quartz
https://qz.com/1245978/scientists-grew-the-first-vegetables-in-antarctica-without-soil-or-sunlight/

This research will eventually be a project aiming to cultivate crops in space "EDEN ISSWhat research team is advancing. We are pursuing research and development on technology that allows us to harvest food necessary for human beings to cultivate in the space station, the moon and Mars environment where goods and space are limited.

EDEN ISS | Ground Demonstration of Plant Cultivation Technologies and Operation in Space
http://eden-iss.net/

Cultivation experiments are being conducted at this laboratory facility with a size of about 40 feet container for cargo. It is built near the German Antarctic observation station "Neumayer III", and environment that is moderately isolated from the outside is made.


Shelves for cultivation are built in the facility, and vegetable making is done by giving light by nutrients and LEDs. This is where some lettuce is grown.


Root vegetables such as radish are cultivated.


This is Rukkola.


Leafy vegetables Fudancun and mustard.


It seems that the total harvested crop was about 3.6 kg.


When you look at the state under cultivation, you can understand the condition of the facility well. Crops are planted in such a case and given nutrients and light.


In addition, air conditioning facilities are set up in the facility, and carbon dioxide etc. necessary for growth is supplied as well.


The following movies that explain experimental facilities in detail are also released.

EDEN ISS - Greenhouse for ISS, moon and Mars - YouTube


To and from the laboratory facility enter and exit from the door on the short side of the building.


When entering the building, the space for work is spreading first. The other side of the door behind that ... ...


It is a cultivation area. By making shelves of different heights, we can grow various kinds of vegetables.


In the figure below, the left side is the cultivation area and the right side is the space for various work.


In the cultivation area, shelves like the one mentioned above are installed ......


Luminaires that give artificial light are installed.


And, a device that delivers nutrition to the shelf remarkably.


Equipment to circulate the internal air also.


Information on harvested crops will be sent wirelessly to Neumier's base nearby.


That information is sent to the control center in Berlin, Germany ... ...


It spreads to co-workers around the world. Incidentally, the research team of Osaka Prefecture University is also included.