Plants on the Earth side continued to grow and thrive. It was no surprise that all of the seedlings on the Mars side died soon after germination. It didn’t hold water very well it dried out and became hard, almost like concrete. Shortly after the seeds germinated in all of the cells, the Mars side went south. The Martian soil is completely different from the potting soil in appearance and texture, and it responds differently when watered. It was overcast outside when I took this picture in the greenhouse-you’ll have to look closely to see that the marjoram seeds sprouted in both Martian and Earth soils. I took my Martian soil and set out to answer my first question: what happens if we try to plant seeds in this stuff? Put another way, is it possible to grow plants in Martian soil without adding anything? To answer this question, I took a polystyrene egg carton and planted marjoram seeds (because I had some laying around) in my Martian soil and in some Earth potting soil for comparison. But that’s a mouthful, so from here on I’m going to call it Martian soil and ask you, dear readers, to accept the inaccuracy for the sake of simplicity. Since my mixture is an approximation of what might be found on Mars, but made from Earth-sourced ingredients, it should actually be called simulated Martian regolith. The substance we would find on the surface of Mars is called regolith, which is mineral particles that result from weathering of rocks. Real soil hosts microscopic bacteria and fungus that facilitate a cycling of nutrients through the ecosystem and convert minerals to a form plants can absorb and use. Soil also supports many little macroscopic critters, like worms and mites, that increase the porosity and affect other properties of the mixture. It contains inorganic minerals from weathered and broken rocks combined with organic material from the decomposed remains of dead plants and animals.
Soil is the upper layer of material on the Earth that serves as an ideal medium for growing plants. One important thing I must mention: technically speaking, this mixture is not truly soil. Matt Damon and Andy Weir are also welcome, but I hear they have both moved on to other projects. I keep the ingredients for Martian soil in my office, in case Mark Watney drops by. I acquired the materials and cooked up a batch.
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You know you work in a great place when you can ask a colleague for directions for making Martian soil and you get an immediate, enthusiastic response with suggestions for how to use it. Autoclave (heat to very high temperature) three times to kill microbes.
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Mix two parts crushed volcano rock, two parts basalt dust, one part sand, plus 0.2 parts feldspar.So I contacted the Garden’s soil scientist, Louise Egerton-Warburton, and asked her if this was possible. The story got me wondering if we could replicate Martian soil with local ingredients and use it for plant experiments. He plants six potatoes and successfully propagates a crop of potatoes in Martian dirt fertilized with human poop. The Martian by Andy Weir tells the fictional story of NASA astronaut and botanist Mark Watney, who becomes stranded alone on Mars and has to figure out how stay alive until the next NASA mission returns to rescue him. A few of us got inspired to use the story to teach plant science to students. The Martian: Many of us watched and loved the movie.