Is it possible to grow plants on Mars?

What kind of food to grow?

When it comes to food, it is doubtful whether you can grow all kinds of foods on mars. Researchers had earlier suggested that microbes can be grown on the planet and it can serve as a source of food for people living there. Scientists argued that this is possible through the use of hydroponic greenhouses as well as reliance on the controlled environmental system. Research is still ongoing on the possibility of growing plants on earth and the desire to land people on Mars in decades to come. Synthetic biology is the hope and it is expected that within a short time, it would be possible to discover various methods of growing plants on Mars.

Mars as the unwelcoming planet

So far one can say that Mars is an unwelcoming planet. Mars and earth are different. It is already stated that those that support life on earth are not available on Mars. The other thing you need to know that makes it difficult to grow plants on the planet is the issue of size. Research has shown that the planet is very small. It is ten times smaller than the earth’s mass. Furthermore, it is said that it is densely cold and the worst is that the planet is desolate. A lot was said about the unavailability of carbon dioxide. It is not close to the sun since it is 141 million miles away from the sun. The maximum intensity of sunlight you can get on this planet is 43 percent of what you get on earth. There are no ozone layers as you have on earth. A lot of technology would have to be invested in and installed before anybody can think of growing a plant on earth.

An ideal condition that can support plant growth on earth was demonstrated by researchers. Certain conditions must be created on Mars before they can support plant growth. The plant must receive a certain amount of sunlight similar to those they receive on earth that make it grow. Something was said earlier about growing plants hydroponically and that is the way to grow plants on that planet.

To improve the ability of plants to survive on Mars, sunlight availability has to be enhanced and the best way to enhance it artificially is to use multiwavelength LEDs as well as loosening the dense MSS and that is by adding potting soil as well as earthworm feces. However, there is the problem of supplying large quantities of this. This will demand heavy investment in technology to realize.

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