Mars Farming Gets Green Thumbs-Up [View All]

Mars explorers could use complicated mechanical systems to produce oxygen and filter waste, and eat food carried from Earth. Or they could just save a lot of hassle and plant crops.

A model of Martian gravity’s effects on water flow, nutrient dynamics and root-feeding microbes suggests it’s possible to farm in the Red Planet’s soil.

“In terms of biogeochemistry and in interms of hydraulics, I’m pretty confident it could work,” said Federico Maggi, a University of Sydney biogeochemist who conducted the simulation.

Growing plants in soil on Mars might seem old-fashioned for those raised on the futuristic prospect of hydroponic or aeroponic agriculture, in which crops sprout soil-free nutrient broths or mists.



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