NASA researching how to farm on Mars
Growing food on Mars may be part of NASA’s 2030 space mission
By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com
Soon astronauts may have the capacity to grow food on Mars. NASA is investigating the possibilities of farming in space. This experiment comes as the agency is preparing for its first manned Mars landing expected in the mid-2030s.
While the concept of farming on Mars may seem cool, it also poses a number of significant challenges. Research demonstrates that plants can grow in microgravity; however, scientists are unsure how reduced gravity would affect the crops. One of the key issues is this – Mars receives about half the sunlight compared to the Earth and with the use of a greenhouse would reduce sunlight even further – requiring additional lighting.
The problem is supplying lighting would require power. Scientists have been exploring the use of LED lighting to provide plants the wavelengths of lighting that they would require. Additionally, NASA researchers are also studying whether plants can even survive under lower pressures than on Earth.