Food made in space - 6 Minute English

Hello. This is 6 Minute English from

BBC Learning English. I'm Neil.

And I'm Georgina.

Last November Nasa launched

a very unusual home delivery

service - a rocket carrying

four tonnes of supplies to the

ISS - the International Space Station.

Among the scientific equipment were

twelve bottles of red wine

from the famous Bordeaux

region of France.

The astronauts might have wanted

a glass of wine with dinner,

but the real purpose of

the bottles was to explore the possibility

of producing food and drink in space - not

for astronauts but for people

back on Earth.

In today's programme we'll be finding out

how growing plants in space

can develop crops

which are more productive and more

resistant to climate change here on Earth.

And we'll hear how plants can grow

in environments with little or

no natural light. But first,

today's quiz question: what was the first

food grown in space? Was it:

a) potatoes, b) lettuce, or c) tomatoes?

Well, in the film, The Martian, a stranded

astronaut grows potatoes on Mars.

I know it's

only a film but I'll say a) potatoes!

OK. We'll find out the answer later. Now,

you might be wondering how

it's possible to

grow plants without natural light.

British company Vertical Future

has been working on

this problem by developing indoor

farming methods in partnership

with Nasa.

Here's their Head of Research,

Jen Bromley, explaining the process

to BBC World Service

programme, The Food Chain:

Basically we use LED lighting and we use

LED lights that are tuned to

a specific wavelength.

So, if you image what the rainbow looks

like, the reason a plant looks

green is because

it's not using all the green light - it actually

reflects a lot of that back. So the reason

why it looks pink in here is because we're

actually only using red light and blue light

to grow the plants, and that essentially

tailors the light diet so that

the plants look kind of black

when you look at them because

they're not reflecting any light - they're

being super-efficient,

they're using up every photon

that hits them.

The lack of natural light in space means

that plants are grown using

LED lights - LED is

an abbreviation of 'light emitting diode'

- an electronic device that lights up when

electricity is passed through it.

On Earth plants look green because they

reflect back any light travelling

at a certain wavelength -

the distance between two waves of light

which make things appear

to us in the various

colours of the rainbow.

But when scientists control the

wavelengths being fed, plants

are able to absorb every

photon - particle of light energy,

making them appear black.

Each particle of light that hits the leaves

is absorbed and through

photosynthesis is

converted into plant food. Nasa

found that different colour

combinations, or light recipes,

can change a plant's shape, size

and even flavour.

But the lack of natural light isn't the

biggest obstacle to

growing food in space. Here's

Gioia Massa, chief plant scientist

at the Kennedy Space Centre

in Florida, to explain:

Microgravity is really challenging but

plants are amazing! They can

adapt to so many different

environments - we call this plasticity

because they can turn on or off

their genes to really

adapt to all sorts of conditions and that's

why you see plants growing

in different areas

on Earth - the same type of plant

may look very different

because it's adapting to the

environment in that specific location.

On Earth, plants use gravity to position

themselves - shoots grow up,

roots grow down. But this

doesn't apply in space because of

microgravity - the weaker pull

of gravity making things

float and seem weightless.

Plants can only survive in these

conditions due to their

plasticity - the ability of living

organisms to adapt and cope with

changes in the environment

by changing their biological

structure.

Plants adapt themselves to being

in space by manipulating their

genes - chemicals and

DNA in the cells of plants and animals

which control their development

and behaviour.

In the low-gravity atmosphere of space,

plants become stressed but

they adapt genetically.

And as a result they're stronger and

more resilient to other, less

stressful events

when they return home to Earth.

Like those bottles of red wine orbiting

Earth as we speak.

The effects of microgravity on

the wine's organic composition will be

studied and could hopefully

offer solutions for growing

food in Earth's changing climate.

So, Neil, if it wasn't red grapes, what

was the first food grown in space?

Ah yes, in today's quiz question I asked

what the first plant grown in space was.

I said, a) potatoes.

But in fact it was... b) lettuce - grown

over fifteen months on the ISS,

then eaten in fifteen

minutes in the first ever space salad.

Today we've been discussing the

possibilities of growing plants

in space using LED lights

- devices that use electricity

to produce light.

The energy needed for plants to grow is

contained in photons - or light

particles, travelling

at different wavelengths - distances

between light waves which

make things look different

colours.

Plants have evolved over millennia using

the strong gravity on Earth.

But this changes

in space because of microgravity - the

weaker gravitational pull making

things in space

float and seem weightless.

Luckily plants use their genes - the

chemicals in DNA responsible

for growth - to adapt to

new environments by changing their

biological structure - a process

known as plasticity.

All of which makes it possible for

astronauts to enjoy a glass

of wine and green salad in

space.

And genetically stronger plants

specimens to study back on Earth.

That's all for today but join us again soon

at 6 Minute English. Bye for now!

Bye!