Antarctica Is Getting a Farm That Can Grow Produce Even When It's -100 Degrees Fahrenheit Outside

09/25/17, 05:44 AM | Indoor & Vertical Farming, Lighting | AgTech, vertical farming

Futurism: 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 engineers at the German Aerospace Center (GAC) will soon build a high-tech farm that will allow Antarcticans to harvest produce.

The farm will feature a year-round greenhouse that can grow food for researchers at the Neumayer III polar station on the Ekstrom Ice Shelf.

Called the Eden-ISS, the farm exists inside a climate-controlled shipping container. The greenhouse relies on a technique called vertical farming, in which food grows on trays or hanging modules under LEDs instead of natural sunlight.

Before the Eden-ISS shipping container farm debuts in Antarctica, the GAC is testing growing fruits and vegetables at its headquarters in Bremen, Germany. Take a look at the farm, which will come to Antarctica in October, below.

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