Can Potatoes Be Grown on Mars? NASA Will Conduct an Experiment

In the Hollywood film "Mission to Mars," the botanist played by leading man Matt Damon tries to grow potatoes on Mars, and this approach may soon become reality. According to a December 23 report by Hong Kong, China's Wen Wei Po, the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), together with Peru's International Potato Center (CIP), will cultivate potatoes in a laboratory simulating the Martian environment, with the goal of establishing a cultivation base on Mars in the future.

According to reports, the plan can not only prepare humanity for migrating to Mars, but also help grow potatoes in extreme environments on Earth, alleviating the food crisis and saving the hundreds of millions of people currently facing the threat of famine.

The laboratory will use soil from the Pampas de La Joya Desert in Peru, which is said to be very similar to Martian soil. CIP issued a statement saying that the carbon dioxide content of the Martian atmosphere is as high as 95%, far higher than on Earth, which helps potato growth, with yields 2 to 4 times those under ordinary Earth conditions. NASA Ames Research Center planetary scientist McKay said that growing food in human space settlements may soon become reality.

CIP communications director Ranke pointed out that simulating food cultivation on Mars, which had already become barren 2 billion years ago, is of great significance for understanding how climate change affects food growth.