The Vitacycle-T experiment, in which plants will be grown in outer space on an industrial scale, will be conducted at the International Space Station, reported Mr. Jury Smirnov, the head of the laboratory for development and implementation of medical and biological programs at the Institute of Biometrical Problems at the Russian Academy of Science.
“The Vitacycle experiment entails the creation of a greenhouse, which allows for the growing of plants on an industrial scale”, shared Mr. Smirnov.
According to Mr. Smirnov, a space greenhouse, resembling a snail, will be delivered to the ISS for the experiment. “An astronaut will plant a row of seeds in the greenhouse. They will roll a cylinder and a short while later plant a new row. Over a certain period, crops will be collected. Within the first experiments, Pak Choi will be grown”, explained Mr. Smirnov.
A part of the plants will be sent to Earth for examination. “Naturally, no one would forbid the spacemen to consume the crops grown during the experiment in the course of the space flight”, underlined the expert.
In the future, the astronauts should be able to plant various kinds of grain, legumes, and dwarf tomatoes.