Establishing a human colony on the Moon and travelling to Mars has been the stuff of dreams since the dawn of the space age. 

 

在月球上建个人类的殖民地，去火星旅行是人类自太空时代开启之初一直以来的梦想。
 

 

But these visions face many hurdles¹. How can humans survive for months or years in the ultra-hostile environment of space? What, for instance, will they eat? 

 

Agricultural researchers at a Dutch university say they are taking the first steps towards providing an answer. 

 

They are growing vegetables in soils similar to those found on the Moon and Mars, looking for ways of helping² space pioneers grow their own crops.

 

"When people go to the Moon and Mars they also have to eat, and it's easiest for them to grow their own food," said Wieger Wamelink, surrounded by several dozen plants in a special greenhouse at Wageningen, an agricultural university in central Netherlands. 

 

"We wanted to use real Martian and lunar soil," to see if plants would actually grow in it, Wamelink told reporters.

 

The first experiments started in 2013 after Wageningen received an order of 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of NASA's imitation "space soil" -- at a hefty price of 2,000 euros ($2,285). 

 

Wamelink stuck tomatoes, peas, cress and other plants in pots containing the simulated soil... and crossed his fingers. 

 

The imitation ground at first was a little "reluctant" to absorb water, but soon turned out to be good potting soil.

 

"Especially in the Martian soil, plants were growing very fast and very good. They even started to flower, something that we never anticipated," Wamelink said.

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