We've already explained how people breathe in space and on Mars
But, there's still the issue of having enough food to eat...
Food is obviously important to our survival
So, we'd need plenty of it, to make it out there on Mars
But can we grow enough food for a human colony to live on Mars?
Can we grow food there at all?
*requires some music*
On space stations, astronauts have grown small crops like lettuce
In fancy growth systems that account for the low gravity, and rotational orbit
This plants were analysed,
and found to be totally fine for human consumption
But, in those cramped little stations...
We can't grow enough food to survive
So, astronauts eat freeze dried foods
With liquid mixtures of seasoning, like salt and pepper
For plants to survive,
they need sufficient light energy, temperature, oxygen, carbon dioxide, water,
and many other nutrients from the soil
And that's not really feasible on a space station
On Mars, however, having enough oxygen and carbon dioxide shouldn't be an issue
Since we'd have the oxygen that the astronauts would be using anyway
And
The atmosphere on Mars is made up of 95% carbon dioxide
But light energy would be the first key problem we've gotta to tackle here
Light intensity and wavelength are key to plant growth
As species need particular levels, and wavelengths of light to grow
Unlike Earth,
Mars doesn't have much of an atmosphere, at all
So, levels of ultraviolet light would be massive
And that's really bad for plants...
And, while Earth receives a thousand, three hundred watts, of solar irradiance
per square meter,
Mars is almost 80 million km (50 million miles) further away from the Sun than Earth
So, it only receives about a thousand watts per square meter
A lower amounts of light on Mars,
would mean that the plants may grow slower...
And to a reduced extent
So, the best way to tackle both of these issues
Would be to use artificial lighting
from energy-producing solar panels
Temperature is also a big problem for growing plants on Mars
The average temperature on Mars is about -55°C
Or -67°F
So, it really won't be suitable for plants, at all
Water would freeze, and plants would wither
And even the most cold resistant orgasms from Earth would just die
The best fix for this at the moment, would be to grow plants in greenhouses
That regulate the temperature
Just like the other (???) on Mars would for the humans
Water would be another big issue here
Most of the water on Mars lies on the North and South poles of the planet
trapped in ice caps
In the summer,
some of the ice melts
So, we might be able to use the water from that to grow food and survive
Other than that...
We'd have to rely on reusing water that we've brought along
And, getting shipments of water
back home from Earth
Plants also need a variety of macro and micro nutrients in the soil to survive
Including things like magnesium, sulfur, calcium, and phosphorus
Fortunately,
Scientists have detected all of these nutrients in the samples of Martian soil
and in Martian meteorites
However, there might not be enough of these nutrients in the soil
depending on where the humans decide to land and grow food on Mars
So we'd have to choose a place with the optimal amount of each nutrient for plant growth
Or... just use some fertilizer
So, would you eat food that was grown on space or on Mars?
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Glory Brew is stopping the waste, by producing compostable coffee pots
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So you can help save the planet
One cup of coffee at a time
Would you be willing to travel to Mars?
Now that you know some of the problems that might come up?
Let us know in the comments below!
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Thanks for watching! :D
