The key is: how to protect crops against cosmic radiation?
When we are talking about greenhouses in the Mars stations those things have very little in common with the greenhouses on Earth. The reason why we are calling those places, where is grown food for space colonies as "greenhouses" are those plantations. The purpose of those plantations is to protect the vegetables or other crops against cosmic radiation.
The structure of the space greenhouses seems more nuclear reactor than some greenhouses on Earth. The system doesn't necessarily need windows because the needed sunlight can be made by using UV lamps. So the windows of the space stations are only an artist's impression. The problem with space agriculture is the opposite of nuclear reactors.
When the protective building's mission with nuclear reactor is to keep the radiation in the building. The purpose of the protective building in the space stations is to keep the radiation outside. So the same protection systems used with nuclear reactors can use to protect crew and food against cosmic radiation.
There is an article that the greenhouses are not suitable for producing food for Mars colonies. That thing is correct. If we are thinking to use the regular materials and methods that are using on Earth. The greenhouses that are built on the low-pressure atmosphere must have a pressurized cabin inside them. Also, micrometeorites can cause problems.
So even if the Mars stations are looking like normal houses they need technology like airlocks. The air will pull back into the station by using the compressors, and that thing is making the loss of air minimum. The gas is used in the space station must be pressurized air. Pure oxygen causes the danger of fire. There must be the inhibitor gas in the oxygen of the cabin because that denies the explosive fire.
And the vegetables must protect against radiation. Glass structures that are used in those greenhouses must be similar to what is used in nuclear reactors. The protection must make for protecting the crops and other vegetables against gamma-rays. That kind of protection is made for nuclear reactors. In the plans, the lead-carbon hybrid glass is protecting the greenhouse against micro meteors.
The needed thing is the radiation protection that can be made by using hydrogen layers between those windows. But there is also possible to use the electromagnetic field that is turning the electrons (Beta radiation) and helium ions (Alpha radiation) away from the structure. The simplest way to make that thing is simple to use two magnets. Those magnets are pulling the ions away from the structure of the station.
When people are talking about greenhouses in space technology, they don't usually think that the space and Mars stations are using special glass and radiation protection against cosmic radiation. So those "greenhouses" are more advanced than the well-known agricultural platforms on Earth.
In this text, the space station means the station that is in a vacuum. The Moon stations are space stations because they are not covered by the atmosphere. And the stations that are surrounded by the atmosphere are things like Mars stations.
()https://scitechdaily.com/greenhouses-probably-wont-work-for-growing-crops-on-mars-because-of-cosmic-radiation/amp/
()https://visionsoftheaiandfuture.blogspot.com/
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