![inside submarine inside submarine](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/4a/46/95/4a46951397f785c2e5256aea048d18da.jpg)
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As the military tries to perfect hydroponics in submarines, leafy greens and other vegetables are being grown in space and in the ocean in desalinated water.Īny progress made will benefit ocean and space explorers both physically and mentally, Erik Biksa, editor and co-founder of Grozine, a hydroponics magazine, tells The Christian Science Monitor in a phone interview Tuesday. The undertaking is just one of numerous projects aimed at to growing fruits and vegetables in the most unusual, even unnatural, environments to fuel manned journeys into the depths of Earth and space. Although the first two rounds of experiments have been on land in a 40-foot shipping container-turned-laboratory, the military hopes to one day grow plants inside the hull of a submarine. The military has begun a $100,000 project to grow plants hydroponically – in a nutrient solution instead of soil – at the Army’s Natick Soldier Research, Development, and Engineering Center near Boston. If research the US military has started is successful, a submarine crew’s diet won’t be bland much longer. Eventually, canned sauces and beans and dehydrated potatoes replace all fresh produce. A week in, the lettuce in the salad bar turns translucent, the tomatoes become mushier, and thawed fruit is common. When a Navy submarine first deploys to sea, it is stocked with fresh fruits and vegetables.