Could we ACTUALLY grow potatoes on Mars? | OVERTHINKING The Martian

Comments · 3.6K

• DR

  @DrBecky · 4 years ago · pinned

  For those mentioning Perchlorate in Martian soil as well, yes this could be an issue, but it&apos;s one that&apos;s easily and cheaply solved (and is also a handy source of oxygen if ever needed). I decided not to discuss in the video, but if you want more info this is a great research article about solving the Perchlorate issue in Martian soil (note it&apos;s unfortunately behind a paywall, but if you&apos;re a student at a university you should have free access): <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/international-journal-of-astrobiology/article/perchlorate-on-mars-a-chemical-hazard-and-a-resource-for-humans/E4906FAD7F45A9AE8212B9198C6FD4AB/share/179ad00cfe4de975e4f2091e8ad8f25fb71095a4">https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/international-journal-of-astrobiology/article/perchlorate-on-mars-a-chemical-hazard-and-a-resource-for-humans/E4906FAD7F45A9AE8212B9198C6FD4AB/share/179ad00cfe4de975e4f2091e8ad8f25fb71095a4</a>

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• JU

  @juliaspoonie3627 · 4 years ago

  As an experienced gardener (although not on Mars lol) who loves permaculture I have to say that you are half-wrong about one little thing: It’s absolutely fine to use human waste (and even our remains) as fertilizer IF it was properly composted! You can easily compost it at home, there are even specific toilet systems for it. <br><br>Technically there can be residues of certain medications after the composting is done but most will not be an issue. Especially not if you are on Mars ;)<br><br>The technique of composting human waste is a bit different though gf you need to make sure nothing contaminates the soil. Interestingly pee is much less problematic than poop. Generally spoken, if you get the heat up high enough in your compost bin the risk for contamination is very, very low.<br><br>If we actually send people to Mars and they‘ll grow their own food, I don’t think human waste compost would be a bad idea. Hopefully they don’t discover Mars-Aphids…THAT would be an alien invasion I‘m terrified of!

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• JA

  @jayski9410 · 4 years ago

  I saw an interview with one of the scientists building the mars rovers and the reporter asked why they work in such a sterile &quot;clean room&quot;. &nbsp;The answer was, they didn&apos;t want to get any contaminants from earth on the spacecraft. &nbsp;Because the last thing you want to do when you&apos;re looking for life on another planet, is discover yourself.

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• AM

  @AMorphicTool · 3 years ago

  I remember as a kid driving past a sewerage treatment plant and seeing a (to me) strange brown mound with green shoots popping out of it like a pin cushion. I always wondered what that was, when I asked a guy who worked at one later in life he said: &quot;Was probably a faecal sludge pile with tomatoes growing in it. We don&apos;t digest the seeds so they make it all the way to the end of the line and suddenly find themselves in a giant pile of compost to sprout in.&quot;<br>Tomatoes man, hardy plants.

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• MA

  @mathmusicandlooks · 4 years ago

  As a scientist I can confirm that overthinking everything is the very first “skill” one learns in university.

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• BO

  @bostonjunk · 4 years ago

  Pedantic point incoming - Mars doesn&apos;t have soil - &apos;soil&apos; is an Earth thing. On Mars, it&apos;s regolith, which is just powdered rock.<br>Soil is regolith laced with a large amount of organic compounds built up over time.

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• ID

  @idomemesme · 2 years ago

  A lot of the issues not covered by the film are covered in the book. They address how he does have some earth soil but nowhere near enough to grow crops, also about the pathogens in fecal matter. He only uses his own waste so as to minimise the risk of embibing pathogens that weren&apos;t his. <br><br>And as is covered a lot in the story. The risk is tolerable compared to death. (Having an RTG for a travel companion for example)<br><br>Overall. Yes, maybe it&apos;s not wholely realistic (the film perhaps more so). But it is an awesome story.

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• ME

  @mebenn15 · 4 years ago

  What is not shown in the movie but mentioned in the book is that Mark Watney also had a sample of earth soil bc it contains the essential bacteria that wouldn&apos;t be present in Martian soil. so mixes that soil with the Martian soil and waited a few days for the bacteria to spread.

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• CH

  @ChemicalArts · 4 years ago

  I think Andy Weir&apos;s plot device of growing crops on Mars was reasonably plausible (perchlorates notwithstanding.) The opening scene of the book (with the dust storm) wasn&apos;t plausible because of the very thin atmosphere, but it was sci-fi so it&apos;s all fun anyway. What it did was motivate people to get excited about space exploration, so the book and movie get a pass on liberties taken with physics, chemistry and biology.

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• MI

  @misstweetypie1 · 4 years ago

  In the book he mixed the poop with the Martian dirt and the dirt brought for plant experiments, to develop the bacterial colonies in the soil (rather than just put a scoop of poop in with each potato). The book had more justifications and explanations, definitely a good read.

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• LO

  @lostcat69 · 4 years ago

  I lived with a wastewater plant operator at one point, one of the things that they do is cook off the solid waste to kill off the pathogens and then they reintroduce bacteria that are necessary for the breakdown of the waste into fertilizer. there are a few other steps that happen but after a few months it turns into one of the best fertilizers we have access to

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• ME

  @Metaplayer · 4 years ago

  Great video. For the curious minded, the bended plants that grow on the side of a hill is not bending upwards because they emerge from the soil at a right angle, a plant will come out straight up just as it would do on a horizontal surface. The reason it bends is because the soil keeps moving downhill in temperate climate from continuous thawing/freezing. The perennial plants simply compensates for this by curving upwards through the mechanics described in this video.

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