When it comes to growing plants we think sun, water, soil. But in some environments, water and soil come with big premiums. In highly-populated areas, land and water are usually limited. And with regards to space environments, these two elements are worth more than their weight in gold.

Hydroponics plantations are one of the possibilities in solving the problem. We can remove soil from the equation by replacing it with the growing medium or air. And although we cannot replace water, we can limit its usage by circulating it and limiting any wasteful evaporation - which can be up to 90% (not sure if I completely understood this bit as I’m not a scientist!).

Our debut hydroponics project uses two parallel, growing tubes. Two redundant pumps circulate water which is infused with nutrients. Plants like lettuce, spinach and basil grow in clay pebbles and the growth period is extended by installing the whole system in a greenhouse.