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Astronauts’ meals have come a long way from the free-dried powders and semi-liquid pastes of decades ago, now US scientists want to grow vegetables in mini-greenhouses on the moon.
Scientists say they are looking forward to a time when residents of future lunar or even Martian outsteps will be able to dine on fresh vegetables. Paragon Space Development Corporation has unveiled what it called the first step toward growing flowers—and eventually food-oh the moon.
This is a sealed greenhouse that looks like a bell jar encased in a 46-cm triangular aluminum frame. It is designed to safely land a laboratory plant on the lunar surface, and protect it while it grows.
The miniature greenhouse is to be launched into space by Odyssey Moon Ltd, a participant in the Google Lunar X Prize. This competition offers $20 million to any entrant who can launch, hand and operate a rover on the lunar surface.
Paragon officials say future testing of the “Lunar Oasis” will be driven by Odyssey’s flight schedule, which will not happen until 2012 at the earliest.
When it does lift off the greenhouse will contain the seeds of Brassica, a hardy plant related to Brussels sprouts and cabbage. Because Brassica goes from seed to flower in just 14 days, it can complete its life cycle in single lunar night.
“Coloizing the Moon or Mars seems so far away, but it is important that we do this research now, ” Paragon president Jane Poynter said.
“It takes a long time to get a lot of research, and to get integrated, reliable efficient systems before colonists move in,” she said.
57．The article is written mainly to________.
A．predict the astronauts’ meals in the future
B．introduce an experiment “Lunar Oasis”
C．tell us the future development of astronomy
D．focus on the human’s great progress
58．The article implies that_________.
A．astronauts can grow flowers in space at present
B．Paragon and NASA will carry out the test separately
C．Lunar Oasis is a series of experiments carried out in space
D．the earliest testing of the Lunar Oasis may be in 2012
59．The underlined word “colonists” in the last paragraph probably has the meaning of________.
A．plants       B．wild beasts       C．human beings   D．scientists
60．The sees of Brassica will be contained in the greenhouse mainly because__________
A．their life cycle is much shorter
B．they are more nutritious than other food
C．they are related to Brussels sporouts and cabbage
D．they are very delicious

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