Yes, You Can Farm Potatoes On Mars
Paul Rodgers

Matt Damon as botanist Mark Watney growing potatoes in ‘The Martian’ (Credit: Twentieth Century Fox)

Matt Damon’s character in 2015’s blockbuster THE MARTIAN was right: you can grow vegetables in the Red Planet’s soil.
Scientists in the Netherlands have successfully raised more than ten different crops, including potatoes, in simulated Martian dirt.
The rusty-red regolith was designed by NASA — which has used its rovers to sample the planet’s surface — and was created from material found at a Hawaiian volcano.
The Dutch researchers mixed their extra-terrestrial “earth” with organic fertiliser, just like the fictional Mark Watney, though he used human faeces to give his spuds a head start.
The experiments open the way for a lengthy mission to the Fourth Planet by showing how crews could literally live off the land.
“It’s important to test as many crops as possible, to make sure that settlers on Mars have access to a broad variety of different food sources,” said ecologist Dr. Wieger Wamelink.
His team was due to begin their first taste test today after assays showed that they were uncontaminated by dangerous elements.
“We have to make sure that it is safe to eat them because of the heavy metals that are present in the soils,” Dr. Wamelink said.
In addition to high levels of oxidised iron (which gives the planet its characteristic colour), the Martian surface also contains cadmium, copper, lead, mercury and arsenic.
Initial tests on peas, tomatoes, rye, and radishes showed they were all within normal ranges, and in some cases the peas and tomatoes actually had lower levels than the control plants grown in regular potting soil.
The other six crops, which have yet to be tested, include potatoes, green beans, carrots, cress and, appropriately, rocket. In previous years, they have also grown leek, spinach, quinoa and chives.
“In principle, there could be another problem,” Dr. Wamelink said. “But the chances of that are very low and we would taste it immediately.”
“Plants may form alkaloids when they are under pressure,” he said. “In high quantities they could be poisonous to us. We will check on them later, to see if any of them are in the crops, together with vitamins.”
The experiments have been supported partly through crowd funding and the backers are expected to be invited to enjoy an authentic astro-salad once all the tests are complete.
The research is also backed by Mars One, a controversial private organisation that plans to send a one-way mission to Mars in the next decade.
NASA also has plans for a Mars mission by 2030.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/paulrodgers/2016/06/29/yes-you-can-farm-potatoes-on-mars/#716898e2673b