Researchers think potatoes could grow on Mars
If you have dueling passions for farming and space travel, here's some great news!
There's a solid chance that if we ever have the capability and the need to colonize Mars we'll be able to grow potatoes there.
A civilization without tater tots is no civilization at all! What do you think brought down the Roman Empire?
Phys.org reports the International Potato Center has been conducting experiments to see if they can grow taters in Mars-like conditions.
They placed the potato in a device called a CubeSat which matched the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels of Mars, along with its atmospheric pressure.
Water is delivered to the potato inside the CubeSat and the container also features holding soil, but not just any holding soil.
Chris McKay of NASA ARC told Phys.org: "We have been looking at the very dry soils found in the southern Peruvian desert. These are the most Mars-like soils found on Earth."
The researchers plan to do several rounds of experiments to see which types of potatoes grow best under these conditions but so far, so good.
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