Heinz makes ketchup from tomatoes grown in Martian conditions

To achieve this, the company built a unique greenhouse known as the "Redhouse", where it planted tomatoes which subsequently became the basis for its sauce.

Heinz and FIT (Florida Institute of Technology) have decided to perform a remarkable experiment by growing tomatoes in similar conditions as found on Mars. Afterwards, the famous manufacturer made some ketchup from its own crop. However, it remains a mystery how tasty the sauce actually is.

The "Redhouse" contains 3.5 tons of soil that came from the Mojave Desert, as the soil from there is remarkably similar to Martian soil. Moreover, red LED lamps were the sole lighting source for the plants. Climatic conditions were also close to what they would be in a space greenhouse.

The first batch of tomatoes contained 30 plants, though later, the team planted another 450 additional plants. According to the scientists from Heinz, the major obstacle for Martian settlers would be inadequate technology. Therefore, any harvests will also be fairly modest. In addition, the plants must be carefully looked after to protect them from various diseases.

The company eventually produced a batch of Marz Edition ketchup from the tomatoes. It is worth noting that Heinz elevated one of the ketchup bottles up to an altitude of 37 km, whereby the sauce was heated at -74 °C. The flavour of the product, sadly, remains a mystery.