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Study Suggests Potatoes Can Grow On Mars (phys.org)
The International Potato Center (CIP) has launched a series of experiments to discover if potatoes can grow under Mars' atmospheric conditions, as well as under extreme conditions on Earth. The CIP placed a potato inside a "specially constructed CubeSat contained environment" that simulates Mars temperature, air pressure, oxygen and carbon dioxide levels. They then used sensors and live-streaming cameras to record the soil and monitor the status of the potato. Preliminary results are positive as cameras inside the container show sprouts. Phys.Org reports: "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." Chris McKay of NASA ARC. "This [research] could have a direct technological benefit on Earth and a direct biological benefit on Earth," says Chris McKay of NASA ARC. From the initial experiment, CIP scientists concluded that future Mars missions that hope to grow potatoes will have to prepare soil with a loose structure and nutrients to allow the tubers to obtain enough air and water to allow it to tuberize. "It was a pleasant surprise to see that potatoes we've bred to tolerate abiotic stress were able to produce tubers in this soil," Amoros said. He added that one of the best performing varieties was very salt-tolerant from the CIP breeding program for adaptation to subtropical lowlands with tolerance to abiotic stress that was also recently released as a variety in Bangladesh for cultivation in coastal areas with high soil salinity. Amoros noted that whatever their implications for Mars missions, the experiments have already provided good news about potato's potential for helping people survive in extreme environments on Earth.
...Matt Damon already showed us.
Now the only thing we need
Is a field of banger trees!
Colonization of Mars possible now! Vodka available!
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Yeah, you can grow things in Mars regolith. If you first remove the toxic perchlorates. And the hexavalent chromium. And the general excess of arsenic. And on and on. Basically, if you take a highly polluted natural material and remediate the various pollutants from it, then add water, you can grow plants in it. Well golly gee, whoda thunk that?
This project is a stunt by a potato council. They're not growing potatoes in Mars regolith or anything similarly contaminated, they're growing them in soil taken from the Pampas de La Joya desert. Interviewed elsewhere:
The big brain am winning again! I am the greetist! Now I am leaving for no particular raisin!
... to be able to grow tomatoes.
Tomatoes ?? I hear you ask.
Well, of course, you can't eat Fries without Ketchup, can you ?
... found out that the potate still grows anywhere, which also includes mars
Like others who posted here, I'm very disappointed that the "CubeSat" is, in fact, not a "Sat" (Satellite) but just a dummy test environment here on plain old Earth. I guess it would have been nice to think that they had launched the thing into orbit (like on that 100+ satellite carrying Indian rocket) but I guess the cost and difficulty of making it space worthy (let alone human-spaceflight worthy to be sent to the ISS) was far greater than the budget of this marketing stunt. (And it was a stunt, as other posters have mentioned they eliminated so many of the bio-hazardous ingredients known to be on Mars, the soil was hardly an analog of Martian soil.)
However, this stupid marketing stunt did remind me of one thing that really needs to be examined, how does GRAVITY and the (partial) lack thereof affect our LONG-TERM prospects in space and throughout the solar system? Because except for maybe the clouds of Venus (and Saturn!) there will not be anywhere else in the solar system where we can find a remotely habitable environment that shares 1G. Will humans be able to become pregnant, bring babies to term, give birth and have them develop normally in a non-1G environment? If not in zero G what about on the moon (1/3 G) or Mars (1/6 G)? That is a huge question for which there has been no definitive research because it is very hard (impossible?) to mimic a less than 1G environment (even if you float an animal its internal organs are still subjected to 1G).
So what to do? Well I heard there WAS a plan to put a large centrifuge on the space station which could simulate various G levels for long periods of time. If so, while I'm sure it wouldn't have been large enough for humans to use (without massive disorientation due to the short radius), it would've been fine for mice and other small animal studies. This would've given us CRITICAL information on whether mammals at least would be able to reproduce on the moon or mars.
Without this data, the first colonists to go to the Moon and Mars are taking a tremendous risk with their most precious of possessions, their descendants. Unfortunately, their experiment (using their own families as subjects) and pioneering this new biological frontier could end in a terrible tragedy not just for them but for mankind.
"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."
And yet, those soils are NOTHING EVEN REMOTELY LIKE Mars soil. Seriously people, we aren't going to grow anything on Mars.
It gets too cold to grow stuff on Mars.
You'd have to have a heated, pressurized greenhouse.
and the stuff around them
Can is one thing. Does is another.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
...because the incandescent 60 watt light bulb managed to sprout a seed and keep it alive - but they never got anything to smoke.
Whether you want big buds or big spuds you need light energy to create that stuff.
Wouldn't mushrooms or other edible fungii be a good bet for mars?
I already the book where a stranded guy grew potatos on Mars. The hard part is pooping enough to fertilise them all.
"That's the way to do it" - Punch
I can understand Aioli, but straight mayo? Ew.
Sure, straight mayo works on fries though that's rather boring just like ketchup is boring. Tartar sauce and aoili are great. So are all kinds of salad dressings. Honey mustard is tasty. BBQ sauce works. Melted cheese is great too. Honestly though if you wouldn't eat the fries plain (just salt) without dipping them in something first then they are crap fries not worthy of consumption. Whatever you are dipping fries into should make already good fries better. Same with hot dogs or other sausages - if you won't eat them plain then eat something else. Condiments should enhance the flavor not be the flavor. If all you want to taste is the condiment then why not just eat the condiment and save the calories for something better?
Poutine sauce is what belongs there.
"Poutine sauce"? The word you are looking for is gravy because that's what it is. Poutine is fine but in my opinion highly overrated. I've spent loads of time in Canada and I've seldom had poutine that was actually good. Mostly it's a cheap crappy thin gravy with some not very tasty cheese curd thrown in on top of some badly done fries. It's a dish that is WAY more popular than the taste should justify. I'm sure it can be done well but that's not what is usually sold.
I just met'er!
Thus Spake Zarathustra, scored for tuber.
Call Elon Musk. We can launch the potatoes using a Hypertuber.
Once we get the Martians hooked on potatoes, we'll need to build potato dispensaries..
Here's the story/of a strong potato/who was puffin' up three tubers of his own..
It's a government plot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEddZPvaLB8
But what is "that"?
School Children in the year 2200 will probably be reading about the Martian Potato famine.
Repeal the 17th Amendment TODAY! Also Please Read http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html
Scientists and engineers at Lays Potato Chips are busy designing the first modular ETPCMM--Extra Terrestrial Potato Chip Maker Module as a proof-of-concept; that a regular astronaut can subsist on a diet of Potato chips, without soda, and without TV, but with a makeshift recliner.
WARNING: Smartphones have side effects--most of them undocumented.
...any real-life Martians are going to look like Mr. Potato Head?
we can make... TOTS! Gosh!
We'll make great pets
...about the environmental impact of growing out world plants in the sensitive ecosystem of Mars. I think the EPA should introduce regulations banning the practice.
Pretty sure that without also accurately emulating the radiation environment, this isn't even close to being definitive. Perhaps they did and TFS didn't mention it. I did not, of course, read TFA. :)
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
While we're on the subject, ambient UV on Mars is probably bad for living things too...
great. So after the great potato famine of 2139, New Boston's going to be full of Martian Hobbits.
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
that the "International Potato Center" is a real thing.
So rise up, all ye lost ones, as one, we'll claw the clouds.
And yet, those soils are NOTHING EVEN REMOTELY LIKE Mars soil. Seriously people, we aren't going to grow anything on Mars.
We aren't going to grow anything on Mars anytime soon. FTFY. You forgot the word soon. If we actually send manned missions to Mars someday then it is very likely (nearly certain) that we would attempt to grow something there if for no other reason than scientific curiosity. Might not be something edible but I'm sure we'd try to grow some form of plant life. Whether that effort proves productive in any way is a different discussion.
Some studies also show that eating vegetables causes cancer. And millennial grad students get all of the ideas for their 'studies' by co-opting other people's ideas from poular media. Worthless. In theory, the perfect conditions to accomplish *anything* can be fantasized, doesn't mean reality isn't still in play and a factor. Oh, wait, that's right: this is all a simulation. Oy vey, geniuses, my ass. :/ Would be nice to address problems that actually exist, this is just more evidence to me that everyone under the age of 35 grew up in an incubator and still lives there in obliviousness.
In an effort to increase revenues and promote tourism on Mars - NASA will open Potato City amusement park.
For those who don't have children or haven't watched Peppa Pig....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
An "International Potato Center" entry on your CV is a guaranteed ticket to success in your next job hunting spree
Nutritional value of fungi is pretty much zero tho
It's well known that Martians can't be bothered cooking potatoes and find earthlings' patience with them laughable.
"Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
Perfect for Russians who can eat potatoes and drink potato vodka, they like the color red too so red planet is perfect
able to show proof that potatoes could grow in this dry, salty soil with some help from fertilized Earth soil
That's all. Hardly anything, really. Earth soil is in PLENTIFUL supply... on Mars. So basically potatoes WILL grow on Mars, provided you don't grow them in 100% Martian soil. Just order some Earth soil via Amazon I hear they have a special deal for delivery if you're a Prime member.
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
Well, of course, you can't eat Fries without Ketchup, can you ?
Of course you can. And you should. Not that a little ketchup is bad but if you wouldn't eat the fries plain with just some salt then they are badly made fries. Why eat something you have to disguise the taste of? I never understood people who pile so many condiments on that they can no longer taste the food they are eating. Condiments should be used in modest amounts to enhance the flavor, not to be the flavor. A dab of ketchup is fine but if ketchup is all you can taste why bother with the fries? Ketchup just isn't THAT tasty.
Personally I almost never eat ketchup with fries. I just seek out good quality fries. Sometimes I dip them in aioli or cheese or tartar sauce (fish & chips!) or something else but I seriously can't remember the last time I busted out the ketchup bottle to dip something in - fries or otherwise.
Speaking of which, how many potatoes does it take to starve an Irishman? None!
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
I have been told since I was a kid that roots need oxygen. I just Googled it and its still true. Now, Earth = 21% oxygen Mars = 0.13 ...So how do you think how well those potatoes are going to fare?? My money is on DOA.
Clearly the authors missed the most obvious explanation, which is that the potato is originally from Mars, duh. Probably brought to earth by Incan/Martian astronauts. I for one welcome our Martian Potato overlords.
Yes, but is it due to the cold, or the lack of sunshine. Just what are the exact conditions on Mars, anyway? For that matter, were the experimenters highly selective on what kind of potato they chose? Was there genetic engineering involved? PS: I din't read the article or much of the summary, and I doubt they were very forthcoming on details anyways. #NotAllPotatoes #NotAllEnvironmentalConditions
They should send up robots with potato eyes to the appropriate area of Mars and get the environmental engineering going.
The trick is usually to get the chopped smoked brisket on top, but really what you need to do to really enjoy poutine is get really, really drunk first.
I've never had decent smoked brisket in Canada ever. Heck, it's hard to get it north of the Mason-Dixon line in the USA, though here and there you can find a decent BBQ joint up north. Maybe someone in Canada somewhere knows how to work a smoker but it's certainly not common in the bits I've been to.
If a food requires inebriation to enjoy I think I'll pass. Taco Bell tastes good when drunk too I'm told but it's still shitty food.
We don't call it terra-forming anymore... We call it potato-forming.
Will humans be able to become pregnant, bring babies to term, give birth
IANAScientist, but I guess that less than 50% of humans will.
__
Men with no respect for life must never be allowed to control the ultimate instruments of death.
GW Bu
How are the tomatoes doing? Going to need ketchup!
I only look human.
My mother is a halfling and my dad is an ogre, so that makes me an Ogreling
Used to be used as a weedkiller.
Isn't happening people.
I'm extremely skeptical that plants can grow at mars surface pressure, and the website has no data whatsoever. I had hope that someone would have actual info about what they were doing, but I guess I'm thinking of an older version of slashdot.
While obviously unpressurized Mars atmosphere won't do, earlier reports explain they're trying to find out how little pressurization and supplementation of the atmosphere is required. The pressure, in particular, greatly affects the strength and thus mass of the required greenhouses.
(That was one bit from The Martian that I really hated. The film had 14 psi (documented in on-screen overlays) over a 2m diameter circular opening held with plastic sheeting and duct tape. Excuse me? That's thirty freaking tons. One atmosphere is equivalent to a 10m depth of water. The book had a more realistic explanation.)
But yes, it sounds like some PR flack overheard researchers get excited that they finally found a recipe that produced some growth, and this content-free press release is the result of them objecting that "we don't have anything significant to report yet!"
It's called Montreal Smoked Meat, it's famous
Had it and some of it was respectable but, at least from the places I had it, not even close to the quality of BBQ brisket I can get in the US nor as good as the brisket deli meats (pastrami & corned beef esp) I can get in NYC or a few other select places south of the border. I'm sure there are some places the do Montreal Smoked Meat extremely well but what I've had was merely decent at best. Bear in mind that when I say I haven't had great brisket in Canada you have to understand that I've had some AMAZING brisket in the US from some of the best Texas, Caroline and Kansas City BBQ places as well as some of the best deli's in the US. I very much doubt there is anybody in the world who does brisket better than the best BBQ pit masters or the best delis in the USA. If you know of a great brisket restaurant in Canada I'd love to give it a try.
For those not familiar, Montreal Smoked Meat is sort of a cousin of pastrami or corned beef that is then smoked and steamed. It's usually more of a deli meat than BBQ though it can share features of each. It's can be very solid eats and worth trying if you can find a good restaurant that serves it. If you've had Montreal steak seasoning then you have a vague appreciation of the flavors we are talking about because it is based on Montreal Smoked Meat.
You need to get out more (I'm an entire continent away and I know all about Montreal Smoked Meat).
I have worked in Canada, vacationed there several times a year for many years, and was married in Canada. I've been everywhere from British Columbia and Alberta to Ontario and hope to get to the east coast soon. I currently live less than 40 miles from the Canadian border. Unless you are Canadian I'm reasonably confident I'm more familiar with Canada then you are.
Somehow this thread gives me a good title for a humorous scifi short story.
NRRPT/RCT
In case you were wondering:
Yes. I'm still a potato.