Antarctica's nonstop winters make it impossible to grow food outdoors. Fruits and vegetables are instead shipped long distances from overseas, just a few times per year.
But in 2017, engineers at the German Aerospace Center (GAC) built a high-tech greenhouse that will allow Antarcticans to harvest produce.
The farm can grow food year-round for researchers at the Neumayer III polar station on the Ekstrom Ice Shelf. The team just completed its first harvest, the AP reports.
Called the Eden-ISS, the greenhouse exists inside a climate-controlled shipping container. It relies on a technique called vertical farming, in which food grows on trays or hanging modules under LEDs instead of natural sunlight.
Take a look at the greenhouse below.
Before the Eden-ISS shipping container farm debuted in Antarctica in October 2017, the GAC tested growing fruits and vegetables at its headquarters in Bremen, Germany.
The 135-square-foot greenhouse can grow all sorts of produce indoors. Harvesting food outdoors is impossible in Antarctica due to its endless winters.
The only way to get produce to McMurdo, the US station where the majority of Antarctic researchers stay, is by ship or plane. Every January, a shipment of dried and frozen food is delivered, and during summer, planes come with fresh food around once a week, according to Atlas Obscura.
GAC scientist Paul Zabel moved with the farm to Antarctica, where he is growing fruits and vegetables under 42 LED lamps.
See the rest of the story at INSIDER
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