Can microalgae help Chinese scientists create fertile soil on Mars?

Scientists from the Institute of Aquatic Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have come up with an ambitious project - turning the sandy land into a fertile land.

To do this, they suggested using microalgae to create a fertile soil several centimeters deep. Is such a project feasible?

According to expert Vitaly Khoroshavin, Director of the Institute of Earth Sciences at the University of Tyumen, any soil can turn into fertile soil, including artificial soil on Earth and the natural soil on Mars. .

"The mineral chemical composition of the soil on Mars is no different than Earth, the only difference is that on Mars there is no organic matter, and Chinese scientists are trying to create the soil layer. fat with microalgae " , Khoroshavin said.

There is almost no atmosphere on Mars.

However, Director of the Institute of Organic Agriculture in Yunnan Province (China) Professor Na Zhongyuan said that at the current stage of the Mars conquest program, this idea is difficult to implement.

"Every living organism requires certain conditions. The temperature and amount of radiation on Mars is different from Earth. There is almost no atmosphere on Mars. The redox reaction has played a very important role." Important in evolution on Earth, but, algae have grown underwater, not on land, and only then appear on land.

The most important factor in the process of creating the conditions for survival is the oxidation of the atmosphere in which water is divided into its constituent elements. Without oxidizing environment, it is not possible to create a fertile soil.

Organisms can grow only under the effect of redox reactions. Therefore, water is very important. This is the only way to create conditions for the growth and survival of organisms. Without such conditions, the project will not succeed, as these are necessary conditions for life. There are also factors such as temperature and radiation, " noted Na Zhongyuan.

Mr. Horoshavin shared the worries of Chinese colleagues. According to him, microalgae are not able to survive in Mars conditions.

Temperature difference between day and night, lack of water, radiation, ground movement shakes under the impact of air mass (storm), . If on Mars creates conditions to protect from weaknesses This disadvantage, then creating fertile land will be a feasible task.

To protect the land can build artificial dome or create an underground infrastructure. However, such projects are a problem that people will have to deal with in the future.