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21.08.2023 - 11:57 / theunconventionalgardener.com / guest
Header image: The future of agriculture? Nick Dragotta
Nikolaus Correll, University of Colorado Boulder
Habitation of outer space needs solving air, water, energy and food supplies within a tight space. And this isn’t a problem of an apocalyptic, remote future. Developing this technology addresses some of the grand challenges to our civilisation. Space exploration can be one of the main drivers to revolutionise sustainable agriculture on Earth for many reasons.
First, so far agriculture has not been a driver of innovation in automation, but a beneficent of it. That needs to change. The current economy promotes increasing the size of farm equipment and producing a single crop for many years, which are techniques better suited to automation. Advances in robotics can decrease the detrimental effects of farming by improving resource management and inter-cropping (that is changing the type of crop produced). Small-scale robotic platforms can provide each plant with the required resources as it needs them. This can help agriculture reclaim urban environments, such as inside buildings or on roofs.
Addressing the challenge of making urban environments greener is similar to the challenges of solving food production on a spaceship or in a Mars colony. Solutions will not come from incremental changes to the current system, but require a disruptive approach – such as the use of robots.
Second, sustainable agriculture is a systems challenge that requires advances in renewable energy and integration of resource management, especially in urban environments or those of a spaceship.
Going to Mars is a “rucksack problem”. Explorers have to decide on a combination of provisions and tools that allow them to maximise exploration and minimise
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Discover the allure of the Pink Carrot – a vibrant and eye-catching twist on the traditional orange variety you know and love. Offering a burst of flavors and a unique color palette, Pink Carrots not only add visual appeal to your culinary creations but also come loaded with a unique set of nutrients that can level up your health game.
Header image: Suited up to simulate the conditions of working outside on Mars. Jonathan Clarke (the author, left) with visiting engineer Michael Curtis-Rouse, from UK Space Agency (right). Jonathan Clarke personal collection, Author provided.
Word by Matt de Neef, The Conversation
Join Emma the Space Gardener as she explores gardening on Earth… and beyond! In this episode, Emma recaps important spacecraft Arrivals and Departures and learns about growing nutrients and medicines in space. There’s a new plant experiment running on the International Space Station, and exciting news from ESA.
Michael Dixon, University of Guelph
Header image: Blue Origin
Can we grow food on the Moon or Mars? That was the question that started Dr Wieger Wamelink, ecologist and exobiologist at the University of Wageningen in the Netherlands, on a research quest in 2013.
Header image: Anastasiya (left) and myself working on the Haughton crater rim. Mars Society, Author provided.
Matt Damon as astronaut and exobotanist Mark Watney in the film The Martian grows crops on Mars. (20th Century Fox/Handout)
Header image: Glenn, in the NASA mailroom, received letters from fans of all ages. John Glenn Archives, The Ohio State University, CC BY-ND
Allyson Brady, McMaster University