As part of an effort to explore the possibility of producing food outside of the Earth's atmosphere, Redwire Corporation has set off to develop the "only commercially-owned and operated spaceflight-qualified plant growth platform capable of growing plants from seed to maturity in space", the company has said.
The greenhouse will be launched in the spring of next year and be housed in the International Space Station (ISS).
The space infrastructure company's project is expected to help deliver critical insights for Nasa's Artemis missions, which aim to take a new crew of astronauts to the Moon, where they would establish a long-term lunar colony. This colony is perceived as a precursor to the eventual human exploration of Mars.
“Growing full crops in space will be critical to future space exploration missions as plants provide food, oxygen and water reclamation," said Dave Reed, the company's greenhouse project manager. "Increasing...