Green-fingered scientists grow food for Martian gastronauts

  11 March 2016    Read: 1006
Green-fingered scientists grow food for Martian gastronauts
A pinch of soil from the moon, a sprinkling of soil from Mars and what do you get? Super foods fit for astronauts. Earthling scientists have cultivated crops in soil simulating conditions on Mars and have grown spinach, quinoa, peas, cress and of course, rocket.
Researchers from Wageningen University in the Netherlands have grown ten new crops in a controlled experiment to find out what food could grow on the Red Planet to feed potential human settlers. But up until now, scientists haven`t had much success.

"This time we used trays instead of small pots and added organic material (fresh cut grass) to the Mars and moon soil simulant," said Wieger Wamelink, lead researcher.

"This solved the problem we had with watering in the first experiment and also added manure to the soils."

The trays were the answer — and allowed the crops to "flourish."

The crops were cultivated in greenhouses in an "under earth atmosphere" to make conditions as space-like as possible. Temperature, humidity and light conditions for the crops were monitored constantly by the scientists.

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