NASA's plan to plant potatoes on Mars

The US Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is working with the International Potato Center (CIP) in Peru to test growing potatoes in conditions that simulate the Martian surface.

According to the Mirror, NASA is trying to grow a viable vegetable in climatic conditions in Mars before putting people on the Red planet in a 10-year mission.

Potatoes were tested to simulate conditions on Mars in the International Potato Center in Peru.(Photo: CIP).

The agency will put potatoes on Mars in the cold storage tube first , hoping they will come out when people arrive. Growing vegetables on Mars will reduce production costs and give food to astronauts living on it.

This project is being jointly developed by NASA and the International Potato Center in Lima, Peru. They are planting 65 varieties of potatoes in the lab, on nearly 600kg of soil from the desert of Pampas de La Joya, in the Atacama desert region, one of the driest of the Earth, with soil similar to stars. Fire.

These varieties are cultivated under the conditions of simulating the atmosphere on Mars, with an average temperature of -64 degrees Celsius, the lowest temperature of -175 degrees Celsius. Radiation on Mars is very high, and gravity is 60 % Earth. In addition, air containing 96% CO2 and very little oxygen on Mars is also a challenge for potato growth.

They must also be fertilized, produced from recycled urine and discarded parts of plants. Potatoes are not only food, but can also be used as batteries or dyes.

In addition to potatoes, NASA is also working on growing green vegetables, such as lettuce that have been tested on the International Space Station (ISS).