A successful experiment has been carried out by scientists at Wageningen University, under lead scientist Dr Wieger Wamelink to replicate the soil conditions found on planet Mars and grow vegetables. The results have been good and according to Dr Wamelink, the yields came surprisingly close to those grown in normal compost. The species that were grown were tomato, rye, radish, pea, leek, spinach, rocket, cress, quinoa, and chives and it appears that six of these were successfully harvested.
If all of this reminds readers that something similar took place in the sci-fi movie, The Martian, they would be correct as we are reminded that in the movie, astronaut Mark Warney, who was played by Matt Damon, also grew vegetables when he became stranded on the Red Planet. This led the researchers to try to emulate him, which they have done.
As Dr Wamelink pointed out, Mars simulated soil is fine as long as it’s prepared and well-watered, much better than moon soil, and whilst crops grew in this, they did only half as well. The project was the second attempt to try to see what kind of gardening could be done by any future settlers on the moon and Mars.
Naturally the experiment could not simulate exactly the growing conditions on Mars, growing on the surface would be virtually impossible because the planet is constantly being bombarded by energetic particles, making it impossible. They could however be grown in underground rooms to protect the plants from the hostile environment, including cosmic radiation.
This is just another of plans made to relocate some people into other planets futuristically. While we bother on simple problems, those who have foresight and believe in mans triumph over his challenges are planning a future for us..... better accomodation.
A successful experiment has been carried out by scientists at Wageningen University, under lead scientist Dr Wieger Wamelink to replica...
