Exploring space is very exciting! The possibility of visiting other planets and even setting up new colonies on them is perhaps the biggest challenge ever undertaken by the human race.
We have already landed humans on the Moon and sent unmanned spacecraft to Mars. The next step will be to successfully land humans on the Red Planet Mars.
Mars is further away than the Moon. It will take us much longer to get there - at least nine months! Once we arrive we'll have to stay for an extended period of time (four months, six months... maybe longer!) so we can carry out our fact-finding mission. And then we have to travel back home again!
On a mission to Mars the crew would need enough materials and food to last for two or three years. The crew would be able to take some fresh food, some dehydrated food to which they could add water, and some preserved food.
Scientists have suggested that space travellers will be able to meet some of their needs by growing crops, such as tomatoes. Growing plants for food during the mission will provide vitamins, minerals and energy needed to maintain a healthy body.
There are other good reasons to grow plants during the mission. Seeds take up less volume in the spaceship than the amount of food they could eventually produce. If seeds are grown in a Martian greenhouse using Martian water, less food mass would have to be transported. A single seed with a mass of less than 1 gram might produce several kilograms of fruit or vegetables.
Another reason to grow plants during the mission is that they may be able to remove pollutants from the water and air within the crew's living environment. This would help to provide a steady supply of clean air and water.
A major challenge of a mission to Mars may not be getting there, but the ability to supply enough food and air for the space travelers! Scientists in Canada, the United States and around the world are studying human survival in space. Your class can help in an important way... here's how.
Scientists know that seeds cannot grow on the surface of Mars. They would like to know if seeds grown in a greenhouse on Mars would produce healthy plants... They want to know how the maneuver called "aerocapture" will affect the seeds. Your class can help scientists and mission planners answer important questions by taking part in the Tomatosphere experiment. You will be asked to grow two different groups of tomato seeds. You will report your results to the Tomatosphere Project Team at the end of the experiment.