The cheeky little red... from Mars!

IT claims to have been making wine for 8,000 years – longer than any other country in the world.

But now Georgia has the final frontier in its sights, as it wants to be the first nation to grow grapes on Mars.

The founder of its space research agency Nikoloz Doborjginidze said: ‘Georgians were first winemakers on Earth and now we hope to pioneer viticulture on the planet next door.’

A group of researchers and entrepreneurs founded the IX Millennium project after NASA called for the public to contribute ideas for a ‘sustained human presence’ on the Red Planet.

One of its scientists, astrobiologist Marika Tarasashvili, is developing bacteria that could turn Martian soil into fertile earth. Meanwhile the skins of Georgia’s 525 indigenous grape varieties are being tested to establish which are most resistant to the ultra-violet radiation hitting the Martian surface.

The next step will be to test the grape plants in a simulated Martian environment at a laboratory in the capital Tbilisi. They will be subjected to sub-zero temperatures, high levels of radiation and high-altitude air pressure.

NASA hopes to launch a manned mission to Mars within 25 years, while billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX firm has set a goal of 2024.