Growing plants on Mars

Palomar · 2003-11-08 13:28:24

*Supposing Marsian colonists decide to terraform Mars completely, and once it is no longer necessary to grow plants inside of domed areas, how will NOT having a moon like ours effect (if at all) the growth of crops on Mars? Shame on me -- former Iowan and all that -- but I'm not sure how much the moon's light (which yes, I know, is not really its light but rather is reflected sunlight) contributes to growth of crops here on Earth? Farmers up in the Midwest say that corn grows mostly at night, i.e. during nights when the moon is 1/4 waxing to 1/4 waning.

Of course, Mars only has Deimos and Phobos.

I suppose crops grown in the open on Mars, at that point in terraforming, could be hybrids or engineered species or whatever.

Thoughts? Just curious.

--Cindy

RobertDyck · 2003-11-08 14:55:38

I doubt the absence of a moon would affect plant growth noticeably. Plants produce carbohydrates during the day, and metabolise them at night. The fact that Mars has dimmer daylight would affect it more. But plants grow in Fairbanks Alaska where the light intensity is roughly equal to the Martian tropics. You could add lights to illuminate plants at night, powered by batteries that are charged by solar panels during the day. I suspect growth is determined by total light gained over the whole day (24 hours) so it would be simpler and less expensive to just put up mirrors to increase light intensity on your crops during the day. Once Mars is terraformed the seasons will be twice as long as Earth, so it may be cheaper to just plant a large field and wait.

SpaceNut · 2015-11-26 19:56:43

Fixed shifting issue and artifacts to allow for it to be readable.

Topic of discusion is quite mixed and covers in spots what we are currently talking about...

louis · 2015-11-27 18:10:19

Sorry, Robert - your post is 12 years old but to pick up on it...I agree - solar reflectors are the obvious choice. Just polished steel should do a good job at reflecting light on to crop areas.

The Mars land area is virtually the same as on Earth. The Mars population is unlikely to exceed tens of millions for many decades to come, so land area usage is not an issue (even if 50% were to be lost to shallow oceans).

RobertDyck wrote:

I doubt the absence of a moon would affect plant growth noticeably. Plants produce carbohydrates during the day, and metabolise them at night. The fact that Mars has dimmer daylight would affect it more. But plants grow in Fairbanks Alaska where the light intensity is roughly equal to the Martian tropics. You could add lights to illuminate plants at night, powered by batteries that are charged by solar panels during the day. I suspect growth is determined by total light gained over the whole day (24 hours) so it would be simpler and less expensive to just put up mirrors to increase light intensity on your crops during the day. Once Mars is terraformed the seasons will be twice as long as Earth, so it may be cheaper to just plant a large field and wait.

SpaceNut · 2015-11-29 16:41:22

Reposting the plant growth as it relates and not so much the radiation element of the discussion:

RobertDyck wrote:

Veggie Plant Growth System Activated on International Space Station
Growing Plants and Vegetables in a Space Garden
NASA is growing crops on ISS. Radiation on the surface of Mars is half that of ISS. So fear of radiation on Mars is unfounded.

I do agree that short term plant life is promising and that we may be exagerating that of radiation exposure but I do believe that long term exposure which we would be incurring for a mars trip and stay does pose issues for survival. We need to experiment with long growing to annual plants to know the effect of what to expect on Mars surface.

SpaceNut · 2015-12-04 22:40:41

http://www.marshome.org/files2/Bucklin1.pdf
http://www.marshome.org/files2/Bucklin2.pdf
http://www.marspapers.org/papers/Blersch_2002.pdf

SpaceNut · 2015-12-08 20:06:42

Found the article Scientists Have Already Built a Prototype Greenhouse for Mars

Its a NASA-backed project, created as a way to feed future martian explorers. Almost eight years, researchers based out of the University of Arizona have been working on a design for a martian greenhouse. One that would allow astronauts to grow food, fresh water generator and used to produce oxygen.

The collapsible, lightweight, tube-like greenhouse is 5.5 meters long and 2 meters in diameter, and would actually just be one part of a larger habitat structure the researchers have designed. “We said, ‘well we can’t make a greenhouse unless we build a habitat around it,’” Giacomelli said. “It’s an appendage at the end of a 30 meter long appendage that is enough to allow one astronaut to survive, and there would be four appendages."
The hydroponics system allows the plants to grow without soil, while artificial light ensures the plants are able to grow efficiently. A composter unit reclaims water from astronaut waste and plant material, and reuses it to feed and water the plants. An HVAC device pulls moisture out of the air to give the astronauts clean drinking water. But the greenhouse isn't entirely self-sufficient: it would require very specific planning and cultivation by the astronauts in order to sustain life, both plant and human, Giacomelli said.
There are a lot of challenges to consider: how much water can astronauts drink each day without running out? How do you balance the amount of food an astronaut needs to survive with the number of plants that need to be alive to produce enough oxygen to breath? What crops would be the most efficient, both for growing and for providing nutrients to astronauts? Giacomelli and the rest of the team are considering all of these factors to make sure we know exactly what we need to do to survive before we ever set foot on Mars.

1444668286144144.jpg?crop=1xw:0.9992836676217765xh;*,*&resize=700:*&output-format=jpeg&output-quality=90

http://ceac.arizona.edu/

http://ceac.arizona.edu/sites/ceac/file … growth.pdf

SpaceNut · 2016-12-30 11:10:41

Lots of greenhouse construction and types being used but we are not looking at the energy level power source mass, the structural mass ect.. needed for a mars mission limited down mass to make it work.....

Mars_B4_Moon · 2022-09-14 12:59:17

Are indoor vertical farms really ‘future-proofing agriculture’?
https://www.theguardian.com/environment … griculture

IronOx Shows Us the Farm of the Near Future, Staffed by Robots
https://www.cnet.com/tech/ironox-shows- … by-robots/

Calliban · 2022-09-14 15:07:07

Mars_B4_Moon wrote:

Are indoor vertical farms really ‘future-proofing agriculture’?
https://www.theguardian.com/environment … griculture
IronOx Shows Us the Farm of the Near Future, Staffed by Robots
https://www.cnet.com/tech/ironox-shows- … by-robots/

Indoor vertical farms would make food supply dependant upon electric power supply and lots of it. Not really a good idea and probably only affordable for high value plants, unless power is very cheap. We each need about 10MJ (3kWh) of food energy each day, assuming rather sedentary lifestyles. Food crop efficiency at fixing light into carbohydrates and protein is 1-2%. The efficiency of converting electricity into light using LEDs depends upon wavelength. But 10-30% seems like a realistic range. Keeping someone alive using food crops grown under artificial light, would require an energy expenditure of about 1MWh per day. At European retail prices, that would cost about €300 per day, or €100,000 per year. Ouch!

SpaceNut · 2022-09-14 20:14:51

post 57 shows the underground greenhouse designs with LED use but it would be better if we could also have long term crops on the surface that used natural lighting. Using long growing season plants would limit man's radiation exposure while tending to the crops.

Mars_B4_Moon · 2023-12-03 12:21:46

Mars Report: What Would Mars Look Like if an Astronaut Could Orbit the Planet
https://mars.nasa.gov/resources/27814/m … he-planet/

NASA Orbiter Snaps Stunning Views of Mars Horizon
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/odyssey/n … s-horizon/

Food in Antarctica: What Do People Eat? An Antarctic Chef Reveals All
https://polarguidebook.com/food-in-anta … to-a-chef/

Which types of food can be grown in Antarctica?
https://travelasker.com/which-types-of- … ntarctica/
Research and development of Antarctic agriculture

Despite the challenges, researchers and scientists have been exploring ways to grow food in Antarctica. They have been experimenting with different methods such as hydroponics and aeroponics to cultivate plants without soil. These methods use nutrient solutions to grow plants, which eliminates the need for soil. Researchers are also developing new varieties of plants that are resistant to extreme weather conditions, such as cold and wind.

the article however discusses 'raising animals' which I believe is forbidden under the South Pole Treaty

Greenhouse technology used in Antarctica
Greenhouses are an essential part of Antarctic agriculture. They provide a controlled environment for plant growth and protect plants from harsh weather conditions. The greenhouses used in Antarctica are designed to withstand extreme weather conditions, such as high winds and heavy snowfall. They also use technologies such as insulation, heating, and lighting to create a suitable environment for plant growth.
Vegetables and herbs that can be grown in Antarctica
Vegetables and herbs that can be grown in Antarctica include lettuce, kale, arugula, spinach, and herbs such as basil, parsley, and cilantro. These plants are grown using hydroponic and aeroponic systems. They are rich in nutrients, easy to grow, and are ideal for consumption in a harsh environment like Antarctica.
Fruits and berries that can be grown in Antarctica
Fruits and berries are more challenging to grow in Antarctica due to the lack of sunlight during the winter months. However, some fruits and berries that can be grown in Antarctica include strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries. These plants are grown in greenhouses, and their growth is aided by artificial lighting.

I'm not sure how accurate this data is from all these websites but here are sites with Some temperature maps, Climate zones, Night temperature map of the Mars surface and Seasonal cycles observed, the area around Elysium Mons gets very cold, North East of Olympus is very cold at Night, there is a very cold spot West of Hellas Basin while Chryse Planitia seems to stay relatively warm at night.

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Dai … _337958459

https://www.lpi.usra.edu/science/explor … mate-mars/

https://planetologia.elte.hu/mcdd/climatemaps.html

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Nig … _337958459

https://planetfacts.org/temperature-on-mars/

http://marsfourth.com/compare.html

https://www-k12.atmos.washington.edu/k1 … rview.html

Atmospheric dust causes daily pressure variations, proportional to the dust amount; the magnitude of the daily variation can increase rapidly, but decreases slowly as the dust falls out of the atmosphere if its a deep, great dust storm. "Great" dust storms, such as the 1977 A and 1977 B storm, produce large increases in the daily pressure and decreases in atmospheric temperature variations, which then slowly recover over many tens of sols. During these dust storms, the maximum daytime temperature decreases and the minimum, nighttime temperature increases: the effect is very similar to that of clouds on Earth and details will be presented in future enhancements. The effect of the Martian dust storms provided some of the impetus for the study of the "Nuclear Winter" concept in the TTAPS paper, authored by Turco, Toon, Ackerman, Pollack and Sagan: the latter two were Viking Science Team members.

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#51 2003-11-08 13:28:24

Re: Growing plants on Mars

#52 2003-11-08 14:55:38

Re: Growing plants on Mars

#53 2015-11-26 19:56:43

Re: Growing plants on Mars

#54 2015-11-27 18:10:19

Re: Growing plants on Mars

#55 2015-11-29 16:41:22

Re: Growing plants on Mars

#56 2015-12-04 22:40:41

Re: Growing plants on Mars

#57 2015-12-08 20:06:42

Re: Growing plants on Mars

#58 2016-12-30 11:10:41

Re: Growing plants on Mars

#59 2022-09-14 12:59:17

Re: Growing plants on Mars

#60 2022-09-14 15:07:07

Re: Growing plants on Mars

#61 2022-09-14 20:14:51

Re: Growing plants on Mars

#62 2023-12-03 12:21:46

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