The colonization of Mars is one of the goals that humanity strives to achieve in the future.. When we can overcome all the difficulties associated with traveling to this planet, we will have to figure out how to make life here possible and sustainable.. The main part of this will be the cultivation of crops, according to Science Alert..

NASA experiments have shown that the landscape of the Red Planet is suitable for growing crops. But this is not so easy to do: dust and sand are not only devoid of useful substances and microbes, but also full of salts and minerals that complicate the life of plants..

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The authors of the new work proposed a new way: alfalfa plants. The forage crop can survive in Martian-like volcanic soil and is then used as fertilizer to grow foods like turnips, radishes and lettuce, the researchers say..

" Therefore, it is important to develop strategies to increase the nutrient content of Martian soil and desalinate salt water for long-term missions,” the researchers write in their paper..

In previous studies, scientists have determined that it will be difficult for plants to grow on Martian soil without adding nutrients to it.. That's what alfalfa is for..

The researchers created soil in the laboratory that was as similar as possible to Martian regolith, and then tested how seeds of various plants would grow in it.. It turned out that alfalfa can grow in it in the same way as in ordinary soil, without the addition of fertilizers..

The scientists then repeated the experiment using alfalfa as fertilizer.. They managed to grow turnips, radishes and lettuce - plants that do not require special care, grow quickly and do not need a lot of water..

However, there is one catch: plants need fresh water to grow.. Research suggests that the salty water available to Mars could be processed by bacteria and then filtered through volcanic rock.. As a result, you can get fresh water, which is necessary for plant growth..

There are many more questions to be answered. In particular, it is not known how accurately we can recreate the Martian soil while on Earth.. It is likely that when we get to the Red Planet, the soil will behave differently than in the laboratory..

The soil from the laboratory was also missing some toxic salts, which would somehow need to be removed from the regolith..