A team of UA researchers can already “farm” on the red planet with a fully functional prototype greenhouse that produces sweet potatoes and strawberries.
“So, I’ve got to figure out a way to grow three years’ worth of food here — on a planet where nothing grows,” says Mark Watney, the botanist who ends up stranded on the red planet in Ridley Scott’s new film, “The Martian.” (more…)
*Scientists have endless ideas for extraterrestrial exploration. Some are feasible, some not. In a two-part series, we look at how UA engineer Roberto Furfaro gives the red or green light to space missions. First, searching for Delta-V, the complex factor that makes a space mission viable.*
Our solar system is becoming a familiar backyard, thanks to the University of Arizona’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, or LPL, a world leader in interplanetary exploration.
LPL’s Phoenix Mission to Mars scooped up the first evidence of water-ice on the Red Planet, and its HiRISE camera continues to beam stunning images of the Martian landscape back to Earth. (more…)
