NASA is looking to cultivate the latest technology for growing food crops in space.The goal is to grow extra vegetables to supplement the stored foods astronauts eat on space expeditions."Fresh foods that the astronauts get from Earth don't have a very long shelf life," said Raymond Wheeler, a plantphysiologist at NASA. "They have to consume them relatively quickly."Wheeler, who has been studying ways to grow crops for deep space travel for more than 30 years, would likeastronauts to be able to diversify their diets and add nutrients.Restocking food from Earth to a spacecraft orbiting in its atmosphere is tough but achievable. However, "if youwere to think about going to Mars on a three-year mission, now resupply of fresh foods is just not possible,"Wheeler said.
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