宇航員兼職做農民 航天飛機上種蘿蔔

Astronauts on the first manned missions to Mars could tend “kitchen gardens” onboard spaceships, scientists claim。

據英國《每日電訊報》8月29日報道，科學家稱，執行搭乘第一艘載人飛船登陸火星任務的宇航員們可能就要在航天飛船上打理一個“菜園子”了。

Experts say the crops would not only give crews healthy food to eat during the long journey to the red planet, but would also improve the atmosphere onboard by producing oxygen and removing carbon dioxide。

專家表示，農作物不僅可以給船員們在前往“紅色星球”的漫長旅途中提供健康的食物，而且它們還可以吸收二氧化碳排出氧氣，改善船艙內的環境。

航天飛機上也能種菜？

In addition, the plants suggested as suitable by a NASA scientist would require minimal tending and not take up much room on spacecraft。

美國國家宇航局的一位科學家也推薦了一些適合在飛船上種植的植物。這些植物只需稍加照料，不會佔用艙內太多空間。

The 10 “prime candidates” are lettuce, spinach, carrots, tomatoes, spring onions, radishes, peppers, strawberries, herbs and cabbage。

初步篩選出的10種主要農作物包括萵苣、菠菜、胡蘿蔔、番茄、大蔥、水蘿蔔、胡椒、草莓、藥草和捲心菜。

Maya Cooper, speaking at the American Chemical Society’s annual conference, said: “Right now, we are looking at the possibility of implementing a bio-regenerative system that would involve growing crops in space and possibly shipping some bulk commodities to a Mars habitat as well。

瑪雅·庫帕在美國化學學會年會上說：“如今，我們正在探尋實現生物再生系統的可能性，涉及農作物在太空種植和將大宗貨物運往火星基地。”

"This scenario involves much more food processing and meal preparation than the current food system developed for the space shuttles and the International Space Station”， he said。

他說：“與目前爲航天飛機和國際太空站研發的食物系統相比，該計劃需要更繁雜的食品加工和膳食儲備。”