In Lab Simulating Harsh Mars Climate, A Nascent Potato Grows

The experiment began in 2016 — a year after the Hollywood film "The Martian" showed a stranded astronaut surviving by figuring out how to grow potatoes on the red planet. Frosty below-zero temperatures, high carbon monoxide concentrations, the air pressure found at 6,000 meters (19,700 feet) altitude and a system of lights imitating the Martian day and night. [...] just four sprouted from the soil. In a second stage, scientists planted one of the most robust varieties in the even more extreme conditions of the simulator, with the soil — Mars has no organic soil — replaced by crushed rock and a nutrient solution. Ray Wheeler, the lead for advanced life support research activities at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, said plant survival in the open on Mars would be impossible given the planet's low-pressure, cold temperature and lack of oxygen, but showing plants could survive in a greenhouse-type environment with reduced pressure and high carbon-dioxide levels could potentially reduce operating costs.

Topics:  the martian   hollywood   frosty    mars   ray wheeler   nasa's kennedy space center   mars   potato   soil   planet   pressure   high   
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