By Andrea Hargraves 
American food company Heinz has made a version of ketchup from tomatoes grown in soil similar to Mars. The goal is to understand if humans can one day live on the Red Planet, whose surface is virtually devoid of organic matter and receives far less light than Earth.
To conduct the experiment, the company brought together a group of scientists from the Florida Institute of Technology in the US, to select the best seeds and grow tomatoes inside a custom-made greenhouse, called “RedhouseThe site, built inside the institute itself, simulates the conditions humans would encounter when growing produce on Mars.
The project was a success and Mars ketchup was revealed this week when a bottle of the product climbed onto a space flight reaching an altitude of 37,000 meters before returning to Earth. Heinz notes that the experimental sauce underwent rigorous quality testing before it was approved.
“We are very excited that our team of experts was able to grow tomatoes in unknown conditions on another planet and share our craft with the world,” he told the portal. daily Mail Heinz’s Director of Growth, Christina Kenz. “Let’s take what we’ve learned to continue our commitments to growing sustainable crops.”
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Former NASA astronaut Mike Massimino is such a fan of Heinz ketchup that he even took the product into space on his trip to the International Space Station (ISS). He told MailOnline that food is a major factor when you’re on a space flight.
When asked if he would go to Mars, now knowing that it would be possible to grow tomatoes to make ketchup, Massimino replied, “My class of astronauts thought we were going to Mars in the mid-90s, when NASA told us that could happen at the age of 10.” And 15 years. Today, I think this is really going to happen.”
“The thing that is different now compared to when I became an astronaut 25 years ago is that we have participation from private sector companies. I think we will achieve that this time, thanks to private operators like Elon Musk.”