Green plants are the autotrophs or producers on Earth. They are able to use their green chloroplasts to capture the Sun's energy and carry out photosynthesis. In this process plants take in the reactants carbon dioxide and water and produce the products-- oxygen, water and glucose sugar.
On a journey into space, the oxygen supply would need to be replenished. During respiration, the astronauts would need oxygen and glucose to produce ATP, the cell's energy currency in order to stay alive. Plants could produce those substances. Likewise, the carbon dioxide and water that are exhaled could be taken up by plants to carry out more photosynthesis.
A recent film--The Martian illustrates these ideas quite nicely. By growing potato plants, oxygen and food were produced to help the astronaut survive for months on Mars. It also demonstrated how water and carbon dioxide needed to be supplied to those potato plants, along with optimum temperature and conditions of light.
Green plants are very essential to maintaining our oxygen and food supply here on Earth and thus would be essential on a long journey into space.
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