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Mars Farming Questions Sparked By ‘The Martian’ Astronaut Mark Watney

Mars Surface

Fictional astronaut Mark Watney, who is played by Matt Damon on the sci-fi hit The Martian, has sparked inquiries into farming on Mars with his ingenious growing of potatoes on the Red Planet’s surface.

In order to pull off the incredible feat in the movie, Watney mixes his own freeze-dried feces with Martian soil. Subsequently, there are those who are wondering whether or not the idea has any validity to it.

Arizona State University’s Jim Bell, a planetary scientist, was quoted by Phys.Org as having said that the theories behind the movie, which was written by Andy Weird, “are sound.”

The theories behind what (The Martian author) Andy Weir wrote in his book are sound (…) A good soil for growing crops will have structure to hold the plant up, and provide the nutrients needed for growth. This is where Watney was headed in his ‘soil recipe.’ Of course, he had to use only the resources with him on the planet.

While Colorado State University microbiologist Mary Stromberger agrees that the human feces “would provide nutrients for growing plants,” she believes that the reality is that “the Mars ‘soil mixture’ he made doesn’t have the complex food web of microbes” found on Earth. Subsequently, “there might be some issues with the recycling of nutrients between soil and plants and atmosphere.” Plus, it’s not known whether the “fecal bacteria could thrive on Mars, even in a controlled environment.” But then again, Stromberger notes that “he had to use what was there” and that it’s just a “sci-fi movie” after all.

In theory, Watney’s waste would provide nutrients for growing plants. In reality, the Mars ‘soil mixture’ he made doesn’t have the complex food web of microbes that we have on Earth. So, there might be some issues with the recycling of nutrients between soil and plants and atmosphere. And, we don’t know if the fecal bacteria could thrive on Mars, even in a controlled environment….On the other hand, he had to use what was there, and this is a sci-fi movie!

Bell was quoted in a Science Daily release as having noted that in the book which the movie is based on, the main character takes steps beyond what is covered in the film — steps which include fertilizing and amending soil.

What do you think, could The Martian method of farming on Mars actually work?

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