Tomato and pea harvest harvested from Martian soil analog

Tomatoes with "Martian" soil

Biologists from the research center of Wageningensky University (Netherlands) completed the second experiment on growing vegetables and other plants on soil simulating the soil of Mars and the Moon. The result exceeded the expectations of scientists . It turned out that when manure is added and the soil is moistened, at least 10 crops grow well there. The harvest of tomatoes, peas, rye, arugula, radish, leek, spinach, garlic, green onions and cress salad has already been collected and weighed.

The purpose of the experiment is to work out ways of growing agricultural products on Mars and the Moon in order to provide food for the first colonists.

“The total aboveground biomass collected from an analogue of Martian soil was not very different from the biomass of the earth soil that we used for the control sample,” says researcher Dr. Wieger Wamelink.
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Compared to the first experiment, several improvements have been made: trays were used instead of pots, and manure and fresh grass were added to the ground. The result was not long in coming: if in the first experiment most of the plants died, in the second experiment they grew rapidly and gave an excellent harvest.

In general, the Martian soil produced slightly less biomass than the earth's, but the difference is quite small and can be considered statistically insignificant. “It was a real surprise for us,” said Dr. Vamerlink. - It can be seen that the Martian soil has great potential with proper fertilizer and moisture. Biomass from the lunar soil was about half that of the Martian and Earth. Spinach grew especially badly. ”

The ash of a Hawaiian volcano similar in chemical composition was used as the “Martian soil”, and for the lunar soil - sand from the desert in Arizona.

Although scientists have gathered a rich harvest, they refused to eat it. Dr. Waterlink explained that there are many heavy metals in alien soil, such as lead, arsenic and mercury, as well as a lot of iron. If these substances get into vegetables, they will make them poisonous. Additional research is needed here. To this end, the collection of money for the third experiment, which will begin in April 2016, has already begun.

Cultures are grown in greenhouses with an earthly atmosphere. It is assumed that similar conditions for local mini-farms will be created on the Moon and Mars.