Who says we can't farm on Mars- The chances and challenges

Good news to all occupants of earth as we are finally shifting base to Mars. After several science fictions depicting what we are to encounter, I believe we’ve prepared our mindset? Hoping that one day I get to see the galaxy beyond earth is a great delight.

Wouldn’t you love to see these things we’ve been taught in our basic education? I mean, staying in satellite stations thousands of kilometres ahead watching the earth like a 3-D movie, Mercury to Neptune and our very own satellite – the moon. Wow!

Mars got my interest since childhood knowing it’s million of kilometres away from home and all it’s about survival – of the fittest definitely… How adventurous, don’t you think?

The train for Mars one leaves in a few years and 100 potential candidates has been selected. Interested in meeting them? Click here .

MARS

Isn’t this image familiar already? I bet you’ve seen in quite a number of fictional movies poised as Mars. That’s our Mars on Earth and it has shown us where we are headed and what to expect.

This is the Wadi rum desert in Jordan and it is also known as Sand valley; it inhabits several culture and thus it has been branded as a place for tourism (Suitable for mountain climbers and trekkers). So, if you’d like to camp under the moonlit and ride Arabian camels you know where to head. It’s simple right? We need to know if our crops will grow on Mars that is why we use this location as a test sample before we carry our bags and baggage towards a place of no return.

Movies shot on this fictional Mars (Wadi rum) includes “The Martian in 2015, Rogue one: A star war story in 2016, Red Planet in the year 2000, Krish 3 in 2013, The last days in Mars in the year 2013, Transformers: Revenge of the fallen in 2009, Theeb shot in 2014 where a young boy survives the harsh world after WWI; amongst others.

You can see it is been a long time coming…

No man has ever stepped into Mars, but fear not as history is about to be made as we are getting our bags prepared as history is about to be made. Mars, known as the Earth twin is millions of miles away from earth lacks magnetosphere unlike earth and is more exposed to direct solar radiation which makes it potentially unsafe.

I can hear some grumble… relax, there are protective helmets to shield humans; so we need not to worry. I’m sure you would like to ask why it has red surface too.

The main reason it’s called Mars is because it was christened after a Roman god of war and due to the presence of its red surface which is due to presence of iron oxide and volcanoes which includes Olympus Mons with Phobos and Deimos as its satellite.

Based on a movie called “The Martian” it was said that a scientist was trapped in Mars and afterwards he made a garden and grew his food. Well well… Can I tell you that’s partly impossible because of the presence of soil called Perchlorates which makes potentially unsafe for plants to grow.

As of now, water is yet to be discovered on mars… So how is agriculture possible without water?

HOW CAN PLANTING ON MARS BE ACHIEVED

Scientists are working effortlessly to achieve a major landmark in history. Using every material available to us, a few methods were devised and so far… it has been success.

This is quite a success on earth already. Quite a number of advanced farms have adopted this farming technique. Having relied heavily on soil for millions of decades, there has been challenges arising from it; amongst it includes pest and diseases of different source.

Hydroponic farming involves the method of growing crops or plants in a culture medium without soil. I know you are kinda surprised, right? Yeah, it can perfectly survive without soil as it has been proved.

A quick test for you, are you interested? Get a seed of maize or beans with a petri dish and a cotton wool. Add little water to the cotton wool and place the seed on it then leave it an area with adequate photosynthesis… then watch it grow with wonder.

That’s just a test line to show you the concept of hydroponics. You might necessarily want to ask me if the above illustration could last the plants growth; it can’t support it growth for long because the cotton wool doesn’t have much nutrients contained within, it is just an evidence of how the system works.

In a nutshell, soil acts as the medium for locking nutrients which is in turn supplied to the plant root as they grow but once the medium is supplied with the necessary elements to survive, the plant grows flourish.

This method increases living standard especially on Mars because it reduces the risk of disease manifestation, pest invasion and accurate/even production of food. Even on a little garden, we can produce more and it detoxifies toxins contained within the plant.

Can you see we have a chance? If the soil in Mars isn’t welcoming us, we can survive quite well.

Let’s move on…

LED also known as Light Emitting Diode and it serves as an artificial sunlight with light concentrator which reflects light to the plant via fiber optic bundles. We all know how important photosynthesis is. Plants require vast amount of sunlight for efficient growth and development and consists of RGB spectrum.

Remember I said something about “Mars lacking Magnetosphere”. Yes! There is no protective layer in its atmosphere which makes it dangerous for plants and animals to live in. Alternative medium is the LED GROWING LIGHT which supplies sunlight to the plant.

How cool! We need not to sow plants under direct sunlight in Mars; rather all we need is this device that can regulate the amount of Photosynthetic Active Radiation and Photon Flux Density with a programmed wavelength. This then stimulates the rise and dawn of the sun which can be alternated as wish but isn’t it cool that we don’t have to fear what the atmosphere of Mars dictates to us?

Do find time to watch this video but before then, in 2015 the crew of the international space station produced and consumed healthy lettuce grown in space. I knew it sounds like fun right? Yeah, the Mars or Moon we can always produce our food and that enhances survival.

Gardening in microgravity was possible because the root of the plants could acclimatize or adapt to the soil condition/ solution medium due to “skewing” and for the fact that the roots direction is not affected by gravity and they exhibited the same characteristics like they do on earth. Crops like tomato, lettuce, wheat, mustard and so on grow well without the application of fertilizer and as such, they have proven to be a success away from earth.

If they grow already in space (microgravity) already, what more do we need for Mars?

Lunar Green House (LGH) is a super model and the grand of them all. To achieve sustainable living on Mars, I think we need to utilize more than just growing and passing them out as faeces. You’d agree with me that we need to utilize everything.

This is a hydroponic plant chamber designed for more than just plant production for food; it serves as a medium for adequate waste, air and water recycling. The oxygen plants released is in turn used by humans for metabolism; the plants are then consumed as food after which they are passed out as faeces, which is in turn used as fertilizer used to gradually enhance the soil and remove perchlorate within it; the water we excrete can be recycled into clean and safe water for consumption all over again.

That is why LGH bears the burden of a 3-in-1 function and is classified as the best because it comprises of a hydroponic system, a Light emitting diode and can be used in micro gravity successfully. It also serves as a Bio-generative Life Support System (BLSS); a preview of this will be used in “Earth light”.

This prototype is programmed with a model which stimulates environmental conditions, regulates the amount of Oxygen and Carbon dioxide; and it’s about eighteen ft tall and eight ft wide with a cylindrical shape which suits the need perfectly.

Watch video on LGH prototype via here

IN CONCLUSION

Every good project has a setback but our ability to think our way through each problem makes us human. Earth is facing global warming and everything is changing, we need to migrate also. Mars, our planet twin has great opportunities to offer us but of course is less habitable for now.

Major problems include the lack of protective layer in the atmosphere which exposes the planet to direct radiation from the sun; another problem is that water is yet to be discovered but research showed that water has once flown through the surface of Mars and that means the future has a possibility. The soil is quite the opposite of our here, filled with perchlorate derived from industrial waste on earth, heavy metals like arsenic, lead and iron which can be poisonous when consumed ; they don’t support growth of plants.

Before the 100 successful candidates board the Mars One ship, provision has been made to overcome the problems listed above. Creation of several planting mediums for feeding and survival e.g. the LGH, LED grow light, hydroponic system, underwater farming, microgravity farming and many more; to enhance their chances on Mars. Growing Nitrogenous plants can help reverse the soil condition of Mars and gradually fix the atmosphere, though it might take a long period before that becomes a reality. Earthworms have also been seen thriving well in Red soil, as such they can help in aeration of the soil, decompose manure and in turn serve as manure for the soil when they die.

History will be made on earth when man steps into Mars… This is the future, are you ready?

REFERENCES
MONJE FARMING IN SPACE; ADVSPACE RES 2003
Mars soil Earthworm
Gardening in space
Mars soil
Space farming
Shape light in agriculture
Lunar Greenhiuse
Led grow light

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