Growing plants on Mars, a not impossible task that fascinates scientists – Ouest-France Evening Edition

What if the cultivation of lettuce and radish on Mars became a reality? Researchers from the University of Iowa in the US have discovered that it is possible to grow alfalfa on the Red Planet. Even better, they discovered that they could use the forage plant as a natural fertilizer.

From science fiction to reality, there is only one step. Researchers from the University of Iowa in the United States succeeded in growing alfalfa, a forage plant, under conditions similar to those on Mars, About the site of scientific publications ScienceAlert. Even better, they were able to use this alfalfa as a fertilizer, the idea being to make the Martian soil more fertile. This discovery will make it possible to meet the basic nutritional needs of human colonists in the future, 78 million km from Earth …

“The low nutritional content of Mars soil and high water salinity make it unsuitable for direct use in multiplying food crops on Mars. It is therefore necessary to develop strategies to improve the nutritional content of Mars soil and desalinate brackish water for long-term missions,” The researchers said in Their study was published on the Scientific Publications website PLUS ONE.

Drought tolerant plant

The team of scientists succeeded in creating a very close simulation of Martian soil, which is solid volcanic soil, which contains a small amount of nutrients. Thus they tested different plant seeds, in order to see which one would succeed in evolving despite these hostile conditions.

Over the course of their various tests, they realized that alfalfa was the plant that grew best, without adding fertilizer. These characteristics are the strengths of this forage plant: It is very easy to grow and grows quickly. In addition, it is resistant to drought and different climates.

Alfalfa, a natural fertilizer

If alfalfa can be eaten in salads or sandwiches, it is not for its nutritional and taste properties that researchers are interested in it. It is a plant that also has the ability to capture atmospheric nitrogen and fix it in the soil. This makes this plant a natural fertilizer, since nitrogen is essential for the development of organisms.

On Mars, the atmosphere consists of only 1.9% of this chemical element (while 78% is found in the air we breathe on Earth). Hence, this solution will make it possible to supply the Martian soil with what is lacking to ensure sustainable and large-scale agriculture.

The results of the University of Iowa study are encouraging. Using alfalfa as a fertilizer in their imitation of Martian soil, scientists were later able to grow lettuce, radish, and turnip… “Growing alfalfa on Mars, to use as fertilizer, would certainly cost less than transporting refrigerators full of food millions of miles to the Red Planet,” American researchers believe, in their publications.

Another problem: the lack of fresh water

But there is a serious obstacle to the development of agriculture on Mars, not least: the lack of fresh water. If the results of the experiments carried out are promising, scientists still have to use water to grow their plants.

So researchers explore Introduction. In 2015, NASA has confirmed the presence of salty liquid water on the surface of Mars, but only at certain times. A team from the University of Iowa is studying a solution to desalinate this water, in order to irrigate future crops on Mars. To do this, the scientists plan to treat the water with marine bacteria, then filter it through the igneous rocks.

If they can demonstrate that it is possible to turn salt water into fresh water and grow plants on Mars soil, it would be a huge step forward for space research. “This study means that in the long term, it may be possible to treat it On site Soil and water resources for agriculture on Mars to support human missions and permanent settlements,” Scientists got excited at the conclusion of their studies.