The apollo astronauts did bring back lunar dirt, but they never grew plants in it. So we had no idea whether there wouldn't be something toxic to plants or something too reactive to plants that would be able to support it. To supp long term goals, you have to have plants to ecycle your air, rude water, in addition to providing food. And the best way to do that is if you can use, in sit you resources, something that's already There.
Can you actually grow potatoes on Mars? On this episode, Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Paul Mecurio explore how to grow plants in space and whether we can farm on the Moon and Mars with space biologists Anna-Lisa Paul and Robert Ferl.
NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can watch or listen to this entire episode commercial-free here: https://startalkmedia.com/show/space-plants/
Thanks to our Patrons Andrew Herron, Bhargava Kandada, Mark Roop, Martin Bonner, Pete Quist, and Estee Catti-Schmidt for supporting us this week.
Photo Credit: Tyler Jones, UF/IFAS
Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts to listen to new episodes ad-free and a whole week early.