Mars Farm Plot Comes To Wisconsin

Researchers have recreated Martian soil in a dirt lab and greenhouse, where they have attempted to grow several types of crops, at the University of Wisconsin-Stout.

Everyone has questioned the possibilities of farming on Mars since "The Martian" astronaut Mark Watney (played by Matt Damon) attempts to grow potatoes on Mars, after he is stuck on the red planet. Ever since, Watney's technique has been questioned and debated back and forth.

Matt Kuchta, a geologist and biologist Mandy Little had their students carry-out a Martian farming technique to determine whether or not they can farm on Mars. Also, the two researchers just happened to be married to each other.

"One of the goals for the human race is to explore and view other worlds," Kuchta said in a news release.

The researchers gathered 400 pounds of glacial subsoil from Chippewa County. The subsoil from this area is made up of sand, gravel, silt and clay dropped by melting glaciers tens of thousands of years ago. The researchers heated the soil to a temperature of 1,000 degrees for two hours, so that all life sustaining organic particles were eliminated.

A major challenge in the experiment was that the cooked soil could not hold water unless organic materials were added to it. The researchers added Miracle-Gro and peanuts as the organic material, so that the mock Martian soil had the capacity to hold nutrients and water. They planted potatoes, rye, parsley and beans in the soil, with the rye growing best and the potatoes following behind, according to Little.

"I want them to be interested in science and have it be accessible," Little said.

In the "Martian," Watney uses his own feces as a form of nutrients for the soil. However, the researchers did not use human waste to fertilize the soil, instead they used worm droppings.

"It's all about understanding how the system works and being able to make predictions based on how the soil system will respond to various changes," Kuchta said.

Related Articles 

Farming on Mars: 'The Martian' Raises Questions About Soil On Mars

'The Martian': You Can Now Farm On Mars, Like Mark Watney

For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).