Space Scientists Say They’ll Be Using Pee To Grow Food On Mars

Space travel used to be considered science fiction or a distant possibility in the future of our grandchildren. Lately, the development of its technology has become a topic that’s regularly discussed in media and in real life, taking us closer to the moment where traveling to another planet will become as common as traveling internationally (slight exaggeration there). What we used to consider sci-fi may very well become an inevitability. 

There are tons of scientists and smart people conducting researches and studies on space travel, be that for colonizing the moon or for finally landing a spacecraft on the Red Planet. The research that’s being done on Mars is particularly interesting because it would set in motion the first space mission where humans will travel to another planet. But don’t cheer just yet, we’re still leagues away from reenacting ‘The Martian’.

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German scientists are trying to develop a self-containing food supply source for Mars through the use of urine and sweat. Yep. These bodily fluids will be required for growing food in space, a must for such a long space trip. These plans are currently being developed by a team of scientists led by Jans Hauslage, a plant physiologist from the the German Aerospace Center, and they include a urine tank and a tomato plant.

The objective of these plans is to recreate the closed biological system that exists on Earth that allows plants and animals to help each other, enabling life as we know it.  This research will be using synthetic and biological urine in its tests and will determine what works best for growing food and resources on Mars. Space.com reported that the research, with two miniature greenhouses, will be launched into space later this year.

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