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?

但是这些愿景面临着许多阻碍。人们怎么才能在极端不利的太空环境下生存几个月甚至数年？举个例子来说，他们吃什么呢？

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

荷兰一所大学的农业研究员说，为了找到答案，他们正在迈出第一步。

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.

他们在与月球和火星相似的土壤中种上蔬菜，试图寻找帮助太空开拓者自己种庄稼的方法。

"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.

瓦格宁根是荷兰中部一所农业大学，里面一间特殊温室种了几十株植物。在这些植物的环绕中，韦格•沃姆林克说：“即使去了月球和火星，人也得吃饭，而自己种食物最方便。”

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

沃姆林克对记者说：“我们想用真正的火星和月球上的土，”看看植物会不会在里面生长。

Of course, getting real lunar and Martian potting soil is an impossible ask. But an Internet search revealed an unlikely supplier: NASA.

当然，拿到真正的月球和火星土来盆栽是不可能的要求。但是网络搜索显示，美国国家航空航天局（NASA）可能会满足这个看似不可能的要求。

The US space agency makes ground similar to that on the Moon from sand found in an Arizona desert, while Mars' crimson³ "soil" is scooped⁴ from a volcano in Hawaii, Wamelink told reporters.

沃姆林克告诉记者，美国航天局在亚利桑那的沙漠中找到一种和月球土壤类似的沙子用做试验田，而火星红“土”采自夏威夷的一座火山。

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).

瓦格宁根大学以2000欧元（2285美元）的高价从NASA订购了100千克（220磅）的模拟“太空土”，于2013年开始进行第一次试验。

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

沃姆林克把西红柿、豌豆、水芹和其它植物种在盛有模拟土的盆子里……然后期盼好运。

To work in this soil "was very special. Nobody, not even NASA, could tell us what would happen," even just by simply adding water, he said.

在这样的土壤里耕种“非常特殊。没有人，甚至NASA，也不能告诉我们将会发生什么，”即使只是简单地浇水，他说。

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

起初，模拟实验田有点“不愿”吸水，但是很快就变成了很好的盆栽土。

Like the actor Matt Damon in the science fiction movie "The Martian", Wamelink watched with amazement⁵ as his "space veggies" grew bigger day-by-day.

就像科幻电影《火星救援》里的演员马特•达蒙一样，沃姆林克也惊奇地看着他的“太空蔬菜”一天天地长大。

"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.

“特别是火星土种植的植物长势又快又好。甚至还开始开花了，我们从来没有期望过它们能开花，”沃姆林克说。