After we’ve overcome all the obstacles in our way to Mars, we’ll need to figure out how to make life there sustainable. Growing and producing crops will play a significant role in this.
NASA experiments support the idea that crops might perhaps grow on the surface of the red planet, as you will know if you’ve watched Matt Damon’s tribulations in the film The Martian.
But it would be anything but simple. The grit and dust are not only empty of organic matter and beneficial microorganisms, but they are also rich in salts and minerals that make it difficult for most plants to survive.
Alfalfa plants are now suggested as a solution by a recent study. Researchers have shown that this forage crop would be able to endure in hard volcanic soil like that found on Mars and could subsequently be utilised as fertiliser to grow foods like turnips, radishes, and lettuce.
According to the researchers’ published report, “the low nutritional content of Martian soil and excessive salinity of water render them unsuited for direct use for cultivating food crops on Mars.”
For long-term missions, it is imperative to discover methods for increasing the nutritional content of the soil on Mars and desalinating salty water.
Previous studies have shown that plants will struggle to thrive on the Martian surface without additional nutrients being given to the soil (or regolith) they are placed in. In this situation, alfalfa is important.
The regolith on Mars is difficult to replicate precisely, but the researchers assembled the closest facsimile they could before testing various seeds in it.
They discovered that without any additional fertiliser, alfalfa might grow as healthily as it does in Earth soil.
Then, alfalfa fertiliser was tested with simulated Martian regolith. Three plants that grow quickly, take minimal care, and require little water were successfully grown: turnips, radishes, and lettuce.
However, there was a catch: fresh water was also required. On the basis of more research, the team believes that the salty water present on Mars might be treated with a specific marine bacterium before being filtered through volcanic rock to create the fresh water required for crop growth.
The researchers state that they “present for the first time an integrated use of a biofertilizer and microbe for effective treatment of basaltic regolith soil and brackish water simulants, respectively, for adequate resources that sustain plant growth.”
How well we can replicate Martian soil on Earth is just one of many problems that remain unanswered. It’s possible that when we do reach the red planet,
The poisonous perchlorate salts that would normally be rinsed out of Martian soil by desalinated water were likewise absent from the simulated soil.
The tests described in this article provide scientists and astronauts some more intriguing possibilities to investigate. The strategies that the researchers have outlined are straightforward to use and effective.
Growing alfalfa on Mars and using it as fertiliser would undoubtedly be less expensive than sending huge refrigerators full of food millions of kilometres away to the red planet. However, alfalfa isn’t the only nutrient we might be able to produce in space.
According to the researchers, “our study indicates that it is feasible to treat in situ soil and water resources for agricultural on Mars for long-term objectives to maintain human missions and permanent communities.”
How closely we can replicate Martian soil here on Earth is just one of many topics that remain unanswered. The surface regolith of the red planet may not quite match our expectations when we finally arrive there.
Additionally, some of the harmful perchlorate salts that the desalinated water would have to remove from the Martian soil were absent from the simulated soil.
The tests described in this article, however, give researchers and astronauts some more intriguing avenues to pursue. The researchers’ methods are simple to use and effective in their operations.
