Farming on Mars: Treatment of basaltic regolith soil and briny water simulants sustains plant growth.

ABSTRACT: A fundamental challenge in human missions to Mars is producing consumable foods efficiently with the in situ resources such as soil, water, nutrients and solar radiation available on Mars. The low nutrient content of martian soil and high salinity of water render them unfit for direct use for propagating food crops on Mars. It is therefore essential to develop strategies to enhance nutrient content in Mars soil and to desalinate briny water for long-term missions on Mars. We report simple and efficient strategies for treating basaltic regolith simulant soil and briny water simulant for suitable resources for growing plants. We show that alfalfa plants grow well in a nutrient-limited basaltic regolith simulant soil and that the alfalfa biomass can be used as a biofertilizer to sustain growt

SUBMITTER: Kasiviswanathan P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9385024 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature