Long periods of total darkness and poor soil needn't stop an avid gardener – at least not one who's willing to go out of this world to grow plants. Lush lettuce is growing in cylinders designed by Texas Agricultural Experiment Station researchers to mimic conditions on the moon and Mars.
To figure out how to grow plants in space, scientists first had to toss out what is known about plant production. They also had to design, build and operate growing chambers to work under space-like conditions. That meant developing chambers that would work in low pressure and provide plants with what's needed to photosynthesize, or grow and yield adequate quantities of food.
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