Spuds on Mars

Maybe Matt Damon's character in The Martian was on to something. NASA is looking into growing potatoes on the Martian surface.  Fortunately, Peru can offer about about 4,500 varieties, so it is possible the perfect match can be found.  Maybe we will get a Red Planet potato for use both on-world and off-world.

In a Wall Street Journal interview, NASA planetary scientist Chris McKay stated, “I think we’ll be able to find varieties of potatoes that will grow at cold and low-pressure conditions. That would be interesting to know for Mars applications.”  

And when he says cold he means it - averaging minus 84 degrees Fahrenheit, with lows going to minus 284 degrees. Add to that high amounts of radiation and you have created a difficult scenario for any garden. 

Potato tests in Peru will help to determine the strongest varieties for possible replanting on Mars. Hopefully, this region in the New World can be the springboard for expanding life on another planet. 

All of this good news in that we have moved past "Will we go to Mars?" and on to "How will we live on Mars?"