Mars Soil could Grow Asparagus

[gawinnard]

But I believe they already knew this with Viking, but couldn't find life.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7477310.stm

Didn't they have a plan to bring back a kilogram of soil in the late 90's?

 

[Woo482]

Yes they did want to bring back some soil

 

[Urwumpe]

I can propose a new DGIV payload module: Martian asparagus, white, cooled. Mr Creosote will love it!

 

[NukeET]

Mr Creosote will love it!

Better.

 

[Andy44]

Get me a bucket.

 

[Andy44]

There was a cool article in Air & Space magazine years ago about an idea for a sample return mission, involving a spin-stabilized rocket to reach low-Mars orbit. I wish I could find the article, it would have made a nice add-on.

 

[mrspacely]

water ice and good soil... too bad we'll never set foot on rusty mars.

 

[Danny Ramone]

too bad if you dont like asparagus

 

[Quick_Nick]

So... what about the atmosphere? Good or fatal for asparagus?

 

[eveningsky339]

Does it come with ummu support?

 

[Quick_Nick]

Does it come with ummu support?

:rofl::lol::rofl::lol: Where's Urwumpe?

 

[Zatnikitelman]

LOLOLOL! You guys crack me up!

Isn't the carbon dioxide just a bit too much for normal plants unless they were specially modified? I know CO2 is critical for plants, but I know that there is "too much of a good thing."

 

[thomasantony]

Didn't Elon Musk originally have a plan to set up autonomous greenhouses having food crops, on mars? Its the high launch costs tat made him go for the launch business first in the form of SpaceX.

~
Thomas

 

[Danny Ramone]

Im pretty sure that plants only need CO2, Nitrogen and Carbon, alkaline soil, water and the right temperature/sunlight hours. I think the surface temperature of mars is quite low isn't it? thats nothing that an equatorial greenhouse won't fix.

 

[spcefrk]

Surely if you built a greenhouse on the surface, you could start it off by pumping in outside CO2 and using small tanks of O2 get the internal atmosphere started and then let the plants sustain the O2 (which if they made enough could be siphoned out and stored). You could generate heat from solar panels or a small reactor and let them grow in the martian soil...

But who wants asparagus? I might wait for the next planet that can grow cheeseburgers and potatoes...

 

[Woo482]

Im pretty sure that plants only need CO2, Nitrogen and Carbon, alkaline soil, water and the right temperature/sunlight hours.

they need oxygen as well

 

[stjimmy225]

If you wanted to grow something just to make oxygen then there's nothing more efficient then a pond full of algae,easy to handle etc but not very tasty..

 

[thomasantony]

Well, NASA is now saying that the ice etc. can help support a base on Mars.
http://www.computerworld.com/action...ArticleBasic&articleId=9104319&intsrc=hm_list

Just think about it. We can use Zubrin's approach, but we don't need to haul a big load of H2. We just have to send some solar panels/reactor if possible, melt and electrolyze the ice, do the thing with H2 and CO2 in the atmosphere to get Methane and O2.


We can have the hab and ascent vehicle fuelled and ready by the time the astronauts reach there.
~
Thomas

 

[darthsithvalek]

In conclusion, is there water on Mars? Cause I saw some statement on nasa.gov "After confirming water ice on mars..."

 

[Woo482]

yes there is water on mars