SPACE POTATOES “WEWANTTOKNOWWHATTHE MINIMUMCONDITIONS ARETHATAPOTATONEEDS TOSURVIVE.”

Www.popularmechanics.co.za _ MAY 2017

A LITTLE MORE THAN A YEAR AGO an experiment to grow potatoes under Martian conditions kicked off. The project was conceived by the International Potato Centre (known by its Spanish acronym CIP) in an effort to understand how potatoes could grow on the Red Planet and to see if they would thrive in extreme conditions. And just in case future Mars colonisers needed a side of fries with that freeze-dried main meal, of course.

The first tuber was planted in a specially made environment called Cubesat. The environment was built by engineers from the University of Engineering and Technology (UTEC) in Lima from designs and advice received from the NASA Ames Research Centre (ARC).

Inside the Cubesat is a hermetically sealed container that holds the soil in which the potato is planted. Sourced in the Pampas de La Joya desert in southern Peru, this very dry and salty soil was specifically chosen for its similarity to Martian ground.

“These are the most Mars-like soils found on Earth,” said Chris Mckay of NASA ARC. “This [research] could have a direct technological benefit… and a direct biological benefit on Earth.”

Once planted, the Cubesat provides the plant with nutrient-rich water and controls the temperature, air pressure, CO and oxygen levels to mimic the

2 conditions on Mars. The environment is fitted with sensors and live-streaming cameras to monitor and record the conditions.

“Growing crops under Mars-like conditions is an important phase of this experiment,” says Julio Valdivia-silva, a research associate with the SETI Institute who works at UTEC. “If the crops can tolerate the extreme conditions that we are exposing them to in our Cubesat, they have a good chance to grow on Mars.”

The plan was to do several rounds of experiments to find out which potato varieties do best. “We want to know what the minimum conditions are that a potato needs to survive,” Valdivia-silva added.

Well, the experiment yielded positive results and the potato plant sprouted tubers. The initial experiment showed that loose soil with enough nutrients could allow the tubers to grow and the researchers believe this could be achieved successfully in future Mars missions. Almost exactly like in the movie The Martian. PM