The main US space agency NASA has announced a competition to develop a power system for astronauts on Mars. “Moscow Evening” found out whether it is possible to grow food on the Red Planet.
Deep space food challenge: Mars comes to the competition table with a prize fund of 750 thousand USD, attracting the attention of online users. NASA invited participants to develop technology that would allow 15 astronauts to eat on Mars for five years, growing food in a rarefied atmosphere (virtually devoid of oxygen and high in carbon dioxide). The winner of the competition will receive 300 thousand dollars (22 million 719 thousand rubles), the second and third places promise 200 and 100 thousand dollars, respectively (a little more than 15 and 7.5 million rubles). Another 50 thousand dollars (3,786,500 rubles) will be awarded to three participants whose developments did not reach the prize but had potential. Applications are accepted until September, but first you need to go through seven application stages: assemble a team, confirm citizenship, and submit a preliminary idea of your technology.
Of course, some food could be brought over from Earth, but these foods would not last long. At the same time, participants will have to build a complete diet for space researchers from grown foods. In addition, the menu will need to take into account nutritional value, calorie content and taste so that astronauts do not eat bland and empty food.
Cinema in reality
Many people remember the plot of the movie “The Martian”, where an astronaut is mistakenly stranded on an alien planet and forced to find a way to survive by any means possible. He added organic matter: human waste to the dense, dry, toxic soil, so he could grow potatoes at the station. By the way, in reality everything is almost like this.
— If you grow something in Martian soil, it certainly won't be in open space. We will need some kind of greenhouse that can create the necessary conditions. We also need to prioritize plants that can survive in poor soil: this way we will increase their chances of germination. Otherwise, you will need to stock up on organic matter, which will have to be added to the soil. Plants need carbon, nitrogen, iron, sulfur, phosphorus, etc.,” biophysicist Igor Artyukhov told Vechernaya Moskva.
He also added that on Mars there are enough glaciers that there will be no problem with drinking water: just build a water treatment plant.
— The question is: will people eat only grass and vegetables for 5 years? Of course, you can take animals for breeding, but it all comes down to money, because they also need to be fed, and our land is depleting. I recommend using a bioreactor (cell growth machine). It is still used successfully and as a result the meat imitates conventional meat very well,” Igor Artyukhov added.
It's not easy to go back
According to the biophysicist, the main problem is not feeding the astronauts but getting them back to Earth.
– It turns out that we need to launch them onto a large ship, within which there will be a smaller ship on which they will fly back. It's very expensive. Therefore, you need to think carefully about every detail,” Artyukhov warns.
In any case, it's worth a try. The technologies developed could also be useful on Earth, for example for hard-to-reach areas.
Tatyana Morozova, geologist, candidate of geological sciences and mineralogy:
— This idea resembles the plot of a fairy tale more than reality. There will certainly not be such technologies in the near future, so there is no point in thinking about long-term expeditions to Mars. In order for scientific astronauts to live on another planet, eat well there and carry out research activities, everything needs to be thought out very carefully so as not to endanger their lives, and this is not easy.
And Russian scientists are working on the project today about the search for life on Venus. And according to them, the possibility that the world is about to have a new sensational discovery is very high. Read more in the “VM” documentation.
