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Soil on moon and Mars likely to support crops
by Staff Writers
Berlin, Germany (SPX) Oct 16, 2019

illustration only

Researchers at Wageningen University and Research in the Netherlands have produced crops in Mars and Moon soil simulant developed by NASA. The research supports the idea that it would not only be possible to grow food on Mars and the Moon to feed future settlers, but also to obtain viable seed from crops grown there.

Wieger Wamelink and his colleagues at Wageningen University and Research, cultivated ten different crops: garden cress, rocket, tomato, radish, rye, quinoa, spinach, chives, peas and leek. The researchers simulated the properties of Lunar and Martian regolith and "normal" soil (potting soil from Earth) as a control.

Nine of the ten crops sown grew well and edible parts were harvested from them. Spinach was the exception. Total biomass production per tray was the highest for the Earth control and Mars soil simulant that differed significantly from Moon soil simulant. The seeds produced by three species (radish, rye and garden cress) were tested successfully for germination.

The article, "Crop growth and viability of seeds on Mars and Moon soil simulants", by Wieger Wamelink and colleagues has been published in De Gruyter's open access journal, Open Agriculture.

"We were thrilled when we saw the first tomatoes ever grown on Mars soil simulant turning red. It meant that the next step towards a sustainable closed agricultural ecosystem had been taken," said Wieger Wamelink.

Research paper


Related Links
De Gruyter
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SPACE TRAVEL
'One small nibble for man': 3D printer makes meat in space
Moscow (AFP) Oct 9, 2019
The prospect of astronauts tucking into a roast dinner has grown slightly closer after a successful experiment used a 3D printer to create meat on the International Space Station. The bioprinter produced beef, rabbit and fish tissue using magnetic fields in microgravity, a Russian medical technology company involved in the experiment said Wednesday. The experiment - an international collaboration involving US, Russian and Israeli companies - was carried out in September by cosmonaut Oleg Skrip ... read more

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