Space agriculture: What plants can be grown on Mars?

According to a study published in the scientific journal PLOS One, alfalfa is the first plant to grow on Mars.

A team of Iowa State University researchers discovered that alfalfa - a plant used as fodder for livestock - can survive on hard volcanic soils similar to those on Mars. They will be able to be used as ingredients in fertilizer supplements to grow other food crops such as lettuce or turnips.

'The low nutrient soil and very salty water on Mars are not suitable for use in the propagation of food crops. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a strategy to enhance the nutrient content of the Martian soil as well as to desalinate the water for long-term missions."

Alfalfa has the potential to be grown on Mars.

Making copies of Martian soil on Earth isn't easy. The team tried to make the closest clone and then experimented with growing different types of plants.

The soil on Mars is largely weathered basalt. Some previous studies have shown that basalt contains many micro-elements such as carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, . and other minor elements such as manganese, chromium, nickel, etc.

Alfalfa grown on a Mars clone does not need any additional fertilizer to grow as vigorously as it does on Earth soil. The plant was then used by the team as a nutritional supplement for the Martian soil clone, successfully growing lettuce and turnips – plants that can be modified to be grown in space because there is no need to spend money. lots of water or time to take care and grow fast.

However, the alfalfa trial still requires fresh water, which Mars does not have. The team hypothesized that the salty water on Mars was likely treated with a marine bacterium and filtered through volcanic rock to produce fresh water.

Another problem is that the replica Mars soil doesn't contain some of the toxic perchlorate salts the real one does. Need to find a way to wash off the perchlorate salt with salt water on Mars. But the experiment offered a potential option for the best red planet soil reconstruction.

According to the research team, in the long term, it is possible to treat soil and water resources in place for farming on Mars, both for future missions and for human settlement purposes.