[Max]

Max asked the Naked Scientists:

Well, after watching a movie called Mission on Mars, i wanted to know if plants will give oxygen while in space shuttle or just in space.

What do you think?

[chris]

Hi Max

In order to photosynthesise plants need 3 things: sunlight, carbon dioxide and water. Their green pigment captures the energy in the sunlight and uses it to drive a chemical reaction linking the carbon dioxide and water together to produce glucose (sugar).

Therefore a plant can photosynthesise in space so long as those three critical ingredients are present and the other conditions - temperature, pressure and so on, are satisfactory. Plants can and have been grown aboard the shuttle and the International Space Station.

But a plant exposed to the void of space would die very fast. It's either very hot - in the sun - or very cold (in the shade) and the pressure is a near-vacuum (there's about 1 atom floating about in every cubic metre of space).

Chris

[that mad man]

Hi Max.

Last night I was watching the DVD of "Silent Running" which is a classic old film and part of the storyline is about a similar thing. Geodesic domes in space that hold plants and trees.

I would recommend watching it even if only once.

[opus]

I love that film- so sad at the end though...

[that mad man]

I love that film- so sad at the end though...

I bought it just a few day ago for £2.99 from the local supermarket, as we cant advertise it has summer and a field in its title. []

[opus]

Oh Tesco!