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Six Minute English

from BBC learning English.

com. Hello, this is six minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Neil and I'm

Georgina. Last November NASA launched a very unusual home delivery service a

rocket carrying four tons of supplies to the

ISS, the International Space Station. Among the scientific equipment were 12 bottles of

red wine from the famous Bordeaux region of France.

The astronauts might have wanted a glass of wine with dinner, but the real purpose of the

bottles was to explore the possibility of producing food and drink in space, not for astronauts but for people back on Earth.

In today's programme we'll be finding out how growing plants in space can develop crops

which are more productive and more resistant to climate change here on earth.

And we'll hear how plants can grow in environments with little or no natural light.

But first today's quiz question, what was the first food grown in space?

Was it A, potatoes, B, lettuce or C tomatoes?

Mm, well in the film The Martian, a stranded astronaut grows potatoes on Mars.

I know it's only a film but I'll say A potatoes.

Okay, we'll find out the answer later.

Now you might be wondering how it's possible to grow plants without

natural light. British company Vertical Future has been working on this problem by

developing indoor farming methods in partnership with NASA.

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