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Growing potatoes on Mars

20.02.2016

The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) plans to conduct an experiment simulating the cultivation of potatoes on Mars.

The project will be implemented jointly with the International Potato Center (CIP) in Lima (Peru). For this, 100 kilograms of soil from the Atacama Desert, which is one of the driest places on Earth, will be delivered to a specially equipped laboratory. In some areas of this desert, rain falls only once every few decades.

According to its characteristics, the soil in Atacama is close to Martian - that is why it was chosen for the simulation experiment. In addition, the laboratory will reproduce the atmospheric conditions of the Red Planet.

To date, about 5000 varieties of potatoes are known: of these, approximately 100 will be selected for the experiment. These are varieties that can grow on rocky terrain with a minimum amount of moisture. In addition, the selection criteria are resistance to diseases and sudden changes in climate.

"We are almost 100 percent confident that many of the selected varieties will successfully cope with the test," NASA officials said.

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