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Researcher tests how off-world colonies will grow food

Dutch researcher Wieger Wamelink will soon be investigating whether plants from Earth can grow in soils on other worlds.

So far, colonizing other worlds has been firmly in the realm of science fiction, but if all goes according to plan for the Mars One company, people will be living on Mars within 10 years. The only way that plan is going to succeed in the long run though, is if the colonists can grow their own food. Wamelink's research, which he conducts at Alterra Wageningen University and Research Centre, in The Netherlands, will be the first steps towards making that happen.

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According to Science Daily, he plans on figuring out which plants have the best chance of surviving, just from looking at what the plants need and what the soils have to offer, and then testing out those plants in artificial soils that mimic the conditions found on the Moon and Mars. He, of course, is working on a few assumptions, given the limitations of the lunar and martian environments.

"Our research is based on the premise that an atmosphere will be available to the colony, perhaps in domes or buildings," Wamelink said in the interview. "We are also assuming the presence of water, either from the moon or Mars or transported from Earth. The plants would produce oxygen and recycle carbon dioxide, ultimately creating a kind of ecosystem."

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"Mars is still a long way off," Wamelink told Science Daily. "But the moon is closer, so it would be more realistic to establish a colony there. What's more, we already know the mineral composition of the soil on the moon, and of moon dust. So what I'm aiming to find out now is whether plants will grow in moon substrate, or whether certain essential elements are lacking. This has never been done before. We are gradually discovering more about Mars, which is why the planet has been included in this research."

I have to admit that whenever I've thought about growing food on another planet (I'm sure I've thought about that at least a few times), I've always assumed that hydroponics would be used, so it's fascinating that someone is actually looking into whether our plants will grow in the soils of other worlds. It will be really interesting to see what this research turns up.

(Image courtesy: NASA)

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