In a time where space travel is
catching the eyes of the private sector, NASA has yet again revealed the
possibility of human life on MARS. According to the recent research and
experiments consucted by NASA they have successfully hindered the reproduction
of the eartly insect using stimulated Mars soil on earth.
The NASA researchers added rucola
(also known as rocket or arugula) plants, manure fertilizer and earthworms to a
pot - and found that the worms not only thrive, but they've now reproduced to
get their first offspring.
"Clearly the manure
stimulated growth, especially in the Mars soil simulant, and we saw that the
worms were active," said lead researcher and biologist WEIGNER of
Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands.
"However, the best surprise
came at the end of the experiment when we found two young worms in the Mars
soil simulant."
One of the worms born in the
simulant. Martian soil simulant is a really important tool for researching Mars
missions. It's been developed by NASA based on data obtained by Mars rovers and
orbiters, and its composition is as close to the material on Mars as possible
based on the information available.
Here on Earth, it would be
technically incorrect to call it soil, since soil contains organic material;
but planetary scientists use the word to distinguish the finer material in the
regolith on Mars from rocks and gravel.
This soil simulant can be used to
figure out how the soil and dust on Mars will affect things like robotic
rovers, mining equipment, and space suits. For the last few years, researchers
have also been looking into whether plants can be coaxed to live in the
material.
We need to know this because once
we send humans to Mars, as NASA plans to do it in 2030’s it may be the first
step towards a colony - and a colony is unsustainable without a food supply
they can grow themselves.
As Wamelink and his team
demonstrated in 2016, vegetables can be grown in martan soil. Not as well as in
Earth soil, but that's why the team is now trying new things - including adding
pig manure and earthworms, which digest decaying plant matter and convert it
into nutrients, and aerate the soil through which they tunnel.
Mars has limited weathering
compared to Earth, though, which means the soil grains may have sharp edges that
could harm the earthworms' digestive tracts.
(Wieger Wamelink/Wageningen
University & Research)
To determine the efficacy of the
additions, the team prepared a variety of pots planted with rucola. They
compared the Martian soil to silver sand,
a quartz-based sand used in Earth gardening for soil aeration.
Pots were set up with rucola
planted, then manure was added to all pots. Then worms were added.
"The positive effect of
adding manure was not unexpected," Wamelink said. "but we were
surprised that it makes Mars soil simulant outperform Earth silver sand."
There are, however, other
significant barriers to growing plants on Mars. They'd need a climate-controlled
environment to keep them from freezing in Mar’s harsh cold, and to allow them
liquid water, and some sort of shielding to protect them from the radiation on
Mars surface thanks to its lack of a global magnetic field.
Both of these could be accomplished
with a greenhouse, but another big problem is light. Mars gets about 60 percent
of the amount of light Earth does, which means that plants on Mars would grow
at about 60 percent of the rate of Earth plants.
To solve this problem,
researchers at Utah State University have been working with NASA to develop
fibre optic systems to deliver light to growing plants.
Meanwhile, Wamelink's work with
soil simulants continues. He has already determined that vegetable grown in the
heavy metal-rich simulant is safe to eat.
In the future, he wishes to carry
out tests to determine the effect of Mars' high levels of perchlorate on
vegetables - a chlorine compound which, in its heavy Mars levels, could be
toxic to humans. The team is yet to publish their research.
(SOURCE : SCIENCE ALERT)
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