Life immitates art: National Aeronomics and Space Administration (NASA) is taking a cue from the 2015 film "The Martian" by growing potatoes in the barren surface of Mars. Scientists are trying to grow vegetables in extreme temperatures and high ultraviolet radiation.
This experiment is a part of a bigger plan to one day colonize the Red Planet. The environment in the neighbor planet is not ideal to harboring plant life because of the drastic weather changes and infertile, dry soil.
In order to simulate harsh Martian surface, NASA and the International Potato Center (CIP) will be using sand from the Atacama Desert, which is known to be "the driest place on Earth." Initially, the CIP will br trying to grow the crops in their laboratories in which the situation in Mars, including the ultraviolet raidtion and weather variations, will be simulated but, eventually, scientists will be planting the tubers in the desert, according to The Independent.
It is fun to just assume that NASA was inspired to carry out the research because its scientists saw "The Martian," a film directed by Ridley Scott and based on a novel with the same title. It stars Matt Damon ("Saving Private Ryan," "interstellar") who on a mission in the Red Planet, was caught in a fierce storm and was left by his crew behind. In the film, his character, Astronaut Mark Watney, tried to survive the hostile planet alone by growing potatoes using his excrement to fertilize the soil.
Popular Mechanics reported that Bruce Bugbee, a space farming researcher from the Crop Physiology Lab in Utah, said the film pretty much got it right. There are problems that the fictional astronaut, Watney, would encounter like microgravity which will cause the plant to grow the wrong way or struggle to keep water down, but there is also the problem of closure.
"If we're really going to do this, you can't open a window and throw stuff out," he explained. "Every speck of everything has to be recycled. That's a tremendous challenge. As he says, 'I'm growing stuff in my own sh*t."
However, NASA chose potatoes because they thrive in most ecosystems in the world, which makes it a good candidate to become the first crop to be grown in Mars. Its resilience even in extreme temperatures makes it "the most adaptable food staple."
Potato is also the most ideal food to take to Mars just in case one gets stranded on the neighboring planet. The crop is also water efficient and rich in iron, vitamin c, and zinc.
Even if the experiment on Earth is deemed successful, this does not entail that humans can grow potatoes on Mars. The researchers stated that there's no way to know whether this will work in real life until someone tries and triumph in producing the plant on the Red Planet.
