File:KSC-04-S-00207

English: Scientists in Kennedy Space Center's Space Life Sciences Lab are growing ordinary salad ingredients in a pretty extraordinary way. But they're not growing the food for themselves -- they're trying to find the best ways to grow plants in space. Plant physiologist Ray Wheeler and his colleagues are experimenting with how plants grow in different kinds of lighting, carbon dioxide levels and temperatures. Radishes, onions, Bibb lettuce and other plants are growing hydroponically, meaning they're cultivated in a nutrient-rich liquid rather than in soil. The scientists are exploring ways that plants could contribute to a bioregenerative life support system. Part of that system would include growing crops to provide food for astronauts on long-duration space missions. The Vision for Space Exploration calls for long journeys to the Moon, Mars and beyond. 'A big issue for undertaking those expeditions in the future will be: How do you provide life support on those missions for the humans on tho