Heinz working with Florida Tech professor to grow tomatoes on Mars

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. - Heinz Ketchup has been a staple condiment for generations. Now, thanks to a Central Florida scientist, the condiment is going to Mars.

"I got this email from Heinz and my first thought was this is spam, and I just kind of put it aside and didn’t even look at it for a day or two," said Dr. Drew Palmer.

Heinz reached out to Palmer after learning about his research. 

Palmer discovered that tomatoes can be grown on Mars.

He's been working with 15 students at the Florida Institute of Technology to figure out how to grow them in the harsh conditions on the Red Planet.

"The surface of Mars is not a place where we can actually grow plants because the atmosphere is not very dense with lots of Co2 and lots of radiation, and there are a bunch of problems," Palmer said.

Their greenhouse experiment turned out to be a success.

They fertilized Martian-like soil and used artificial light. 

They are finally seeing the first bearings of their fruit.

"I think what this does is raise the bar on what we think is possible and what we think is necessary," Palmer said.

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