Although Elon Musk plans to populate Mars with people, recent experiments using extraterrestrial soil show that it will be much easier for people to survive on the Moon, writes Space.
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Scientists have come up with several ways to grow food in space. And yet, research continues that concerns traditional methods of growing crops directly in lunar and Martian soil.
For the new experiment, scientists used reconstructed lunar soil created from samples returned by the Apollo missions.. To create the reconstructed Martian soil, data collected by the Curiosity rover were used, because until now no samples from Mars have been delivered to Earth.
According to Laura Lee from Northern Arizona University, USA, experiments have shown that plants grow better in lunar rather than Martian soil.. Although the researchers thought it would be the other way around.
The soil on Mars is filled with nitrogen, which is an essential component for life, but at the same time it is very dense and clay-like, which limits the amount of oxygen available to plant roots..
Scientists have tried to grow crops using Milorganite, a fertilizer made from heat-treated microbes that digest wastewater.. It is believed that human waste can be used as fertilizer to grow food on the Moon and Mars.
Although the study has not yet been published, preliminary results suggest fertilizers made from human waste may not have the desired effect..
Corn grown in Martian soil using wastewater-digesting bacteria had a survival rate of 33.3%, while corn grown with pure nitrogen fertilizer, which is used for crops on Earth, had a survival rate of 58.8%. This suggests fertilizer may have to be shipped to Mars to compensate for low yields..
Scientists are now testing broccoli, squash, beans and alfalfa with various fertilizers in Martian and lunar soil to see how well they survive. Alfalfa grows better in lunar rather than Martian soil, and scientists believe it could be used as a future fertilizer for space crops.. Scientists will also test potatoes, which helped the main character of the film “The Martian” not to starve on the Red Planet.
Past research shows that it will take at least 100 years for settlements on Mars to become fully self-sufficient and able to provide food for themselves..
As for settlements on the Moon, it is believed that they could become self-sufficient in just a few decades. Until then, large amounts of food will still have to be delivered from Earth..
As Focus already wrote, NASA is preparing to send a special apparatus to the Moon, which will take pictures of our planet’s magnetic field for the first time.
Focus also wrote that astronomers studied Jupiter and discovered something strange on the giant planet. It turned out that the idea of \u200b\u200b\u200b\u200bJupiter's clouds was erroneous.