We know, you say, “We went to Mars and it survived”, but as humanity, we will set foot on Mars in the nearer future than you think. Whether we want to build a life there is debatable, but if we are to build it, we need food.
You remember the movie The Martian, where Matt Damon’s character was growing a few plants there using the greenhouse method when he went to Mars. Scientists have found the most productive plant we can grow to survive on Mars in a similar scenario.
The first plant we should grow on Mars: Alfalfa
According to scientists’ research, the plant we need to grow on Mars is clover. The researchers determined that this forage plant can survive in the hard volcanic soil that covers Mars and then be used as fertilizer to grow foods such as turnips, radishes and lettuce.
Previous research has shown that plants won’t grow on the Martian surface without adding extra nutrients to the soil in which they’re placed, this is where clover comes in. It’s hard to get an exact match for it to grow well in Martian soil, but researchers have found that the clover plant can grow just as well in Earth’s soil without any additional fertilizer.
The simulated Martian soil was then tested with alfalfa added as fertilizer. Three low-maintenance, fast-growing plants that don’t need much water—turnips, radishes, and lettuce—were put to the test and all grown successfully.
There is one problem though: fresh water is also required. But that might not be a problem either, as the research team thinks the saltwater found on Mars could be purified with a type of marine bacteria and then filtered through volcanic rocks to produce the freshwater needed for crop growth. What are you thinking? Please do not forget to share your thoughts with us in the comments.
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