Making Mars A Vegetable Garden

[Cerebral Stasis 0]

This thread was originally about how, if a human mission goes to Mars, they will need to grow their own foods in order to sustain themselves throughout the entire stay, since one can only pack so much dehydrated food into a suitcase.Serverph, according to said treaty that was signed by all major world powers, he does, in fact, have every right to claim ownership of all extraterrestrial bodies, and has legally done so. He is selling plots of moons and planets that are, in fact, real estate. It's no joke or hoax, although it seems silly. He had announced that, if any country had a problem with him owning the solar system, they could take it up with him. Here it is, years later, and no country has yet filed any complaints about his "business." I'm considering buying a plot of land for my father for his birthday. He's always wanted to have a farm, but chances are he won't get one in his lifetime, so it's kind of a"thought that counts" thing, since his "farmland" obviously won't be farmable in either of our lifetimes. On the other hand, if one buys some shares to a planet or satellite (moon), it could actually be worth some real money in the unforeseeable future (to one's decendants, for example).As I said, it's the thought that counts.

[DeveloperX 0]

I hope...

Some facts for Life on Mars.

 

A NASA research team of scientists at the Johnson Space Center and at Stanford University has found evidence that strongly suggests primitive life may have existed on Mars more than 3.6 billion years ago.

The NASA-funded team found the first organic molecules thought to be of Martian origin; several mineral features characteristic of biological activity; and possible microscopic fossils of primitive, bacteria-like organisms inside of an ancient Martian rock that fell to Earth as a meteorite. This array of indirect evidence of past life will be reported in the August 16 issue of the journal Science, presenting the investigation to the scientific community at large to reach a future consensus that will either confirm or deny the team's conclusion.

Notice from serverph:

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Meterorite ALH84001

This 4.5 billion-year-old rock, labeled meteorite ALH84001, is believed to have once been a part of Mars and to contain fossil evidence that primitive life may have existed on Mars more than 3.6 billion years ago. The rock is a portion of a meteorite that was dislodged from Mars by a huge impact about 16 million years ago and that fell to Earth in Antarctica 13,000 years ago. The meteorite was found in Allan Hills ice field, Antarctica, by an annual expedition of the National Science Foundation's Antarctic Meteorite Program in 1984. It is preserved for study at the Johnson Space Center's Meteorite Processing Laboratory in Houston.

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Microscopic Egg-shaped Structures

This electron microscope image shows egg-shaped structures, some of which may be possible microscopic fossils of Martian origin as discussed by NASA research published in the Aug. 16, 1996, issue of the journal Science. A two-year investigation found organic molecules, mineral features characteristic of biological activity and possible microscopic fossils such as these inside of an ancient Martian rock that fell to Earth as a meteorite. The largest possible fossils are less than 1/100th the diameter of a human hair in size while most are ten times smaller.

[note=serverph]http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00286[/
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Mars Life? - Microscopic Structures

In the center of this electron microscope image of a small chip from a meteorite are several tiny structures that are possible microscopic fossils of primitive, bacteria-like organisms that may have lived on Mars more than 3.6 billion years ago. A two-year investigation by a NASA research team found organic molecules, mineral features characteristic of biological activity and possible microscopic fossils such as these inside of an ancient Martian rock that fell to Earth as a meteorite. The largest possible fossils are less than 1/100th the diameter of a human hair in size while most are ten times smaller.

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[note=serverph]plagiarism to cheat on hosting credits system? please review Xisto forum rules & TOS. blocks of copied texts, placed in quotes. warning served. credits adjusted. suspension on next attempt to plagiarize.

Edited January 6, 2006 by serverph (see edit history)

[shigajet 0]

Not too long ago I would've thought that growing any vegetation on Mars would be a longshot, but now it seems we're one step closer to achieving that. It's neat but it would be very costly (money-wise) if it were to be done in the near future. Then again, you never know.

[Dawiss 0]

lol.. That's very good idea to make some vegetable plants there so they know is there posibility to make grow anything on diffrent planets not only Earth.. lol.. they havn't sent any people there but alredy try to grow something. That was a big shock to me .. Way to go NASA and I hope it all will work for you ..

[Cerebral Stasis 0]

The problem with the Martian atmosphere isn't that there is not enough carbon dioxide (the atmosphere is, in fact, 95.32% carbon dioxide, so, in theory, plants would thrive there), but instead that the atmosphere is too thin (.7 kPa - .9 kPa, compared to Earth's 100kPa) for the planet to have enough pressure to support life, which also affects how much heat is trapped from the sun. As a result, the average temperature of mars is -63 C, which is obviously far too cold for plant life.

So, in short, there won't be any way for Mars to be colonized outside of some kind of bubble or something, unless some Star Trek-like terraforming processes are invented (won't happen in our lifetime, nor probably in five lifetimes to come). Furthermore, if you can believe the source, Martian soil has been found to be highly toxic, so not only would one need atmosphere and water, but soil as well. Kind of a barebones package, isn't it?

Facts taken from here and here.

[Eikon 0]

I doubt they'll actually be growing them in the dirt of mars. More likely they'll be bringing dirt with them to mars and plant them in pots or something in a colony of some sort.

[Cerebral Stasis 0]

As I said, the problem with that is that it would mean a lot of extra weight on the ship carrying the supplies, not to mention a plant can only grow so big in a pot (especialy if they intended to actually depend on the plants for necessary nourishment.

[freesoul 0]

WOW, this sounds really awesome. I have no idea to how they are gonna do it or why they haven;t done it yet but I'll sure try some vegetables from Mars if they fit my budget.

[Cerebral Stasis 0]

Did you even read the article, freesoul? The reason they haven't done it yet is because they haven't needed to and because it would be difficult and expensive. Food grown on Mars, assuming it was possible, would not taste any different than food from Earth. It would just be ten times more expensive. The only reason to grow plants on Mars would be to make food for humans living on Mars (anyone seen Mission to Mars?), but otherwise, it would be a pointless and expensive endeavour.