![]() ![]() He controls the conditions inside - such as temperature, light and the hydroponic solution - from his office in Tucson, with the help of a technician at the South Pole. ![]() Patterson refers to the greenhouse as a big "growbot," a robot that grows things. Staff members visit the greenhouse foyer after work to relax on the couch, eat dinner or take a break from the station's persistent dry air. But inside the chamber, "it's bright, it's humid, it's green, there are great smells," said Patterson. The South Pole is cold, dry and dark during winter. The crunchy, fresh vegetables aren't the only benefit of the greenhouse, which is about the size of your classroom at school. So the crew's meals are prepared using frozen food flown in earlier in the year, and a fresh salad from the greenhouse is served every few days. During this time, there are no flights into or out of the station because of severe conditions. The vegetables grown there are the only fresh food available to the 50 scientists and staff members who live inside the station from mid-February to mid-October, during the United States Antarctic Program's winter season. "There's a lot going on inside the chamber," said Lane Patterson, a University of Arizona scientist who manages the greenhouse. The approximately 37 gallons of water used per day come from melting ice from the ice sheet. The plants rely on artificial light and are grown in a hydroponic solution of water and nutrients, rather than soil. About 13 pounds of plant material - roots and stems as well as fruit - are produced each day. Outdoor temperatures at the South Pole can drop to 100 degrees below zero, and the sun does not shine for six months out of the year: not ideal conditions for growing vegetables.īut inside the greenhouse - known as the South Pole Food Growth Chamber - cantaloupe, peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, herbs, leafy green vegetables such as kale and lettuce, sunflowers, other edible flowers and even watermelons flourish. ![]() The station lies on top of the massive Antarctic ice sheet, which is up to two miles thick and thousands of miles wide. And it tests new technology that may one day help humans garden on the moon. It also provides a warm, bright place to relax during the long, dark winters. At the very bottom of the world, scientists working at the United States South Pole Station manage a greenhouse that grows fresh vegetables. What's round and red and grows at the South Pole? A tomato! ![]()
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