Meals can be made on Mars as scientists create fish and chips in ‘red planet test’ with a few changes
COLONISTS living on Mars could grow their own food - including for a fish and chips meal - new tests show.
But there’s one huge hurdle - the red planet’s oxygen-deficient air could kill an unprotected person in less than three minutes.
To colonise Mars, settlers will have to grow their own food, said landscape architecture expert Benz Kotzen, of University of Greenwich in London, the UK.
The race is on to create Mars-friendly food as Nasa wants to set up colonies on the fourth planet from the Sun in the next few decades.
"These missions will only be viable if astronauts can produce their own food," wrote Kotzen on research website .
"Martians will need to grow fresh produce to be healthy and well."
We successfully grew potatoes, tomatoes, dwarf beans, carrots, lettuce, spring onions, chives and basil.
Benz Kotzen, landscape architecture expert
One major problem is that Mars - located 140 million miles from Earth - is a dusty, cold, desert world with a very thin atmosphere.
Its atmosphere is toxic at 95% CO2 - compared to 0.04% carbon dioxide on Earth.
That means that the air on Mars would kill a human quickly.
In fact the average human would die in less than three minutes if left unprotected on the surface, according to Nasa's calculations.
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BOILING BLOOD
"If you are unprotected on Mars... your blood would boil, even at ambient temperature," said planetary scientist Pascal Lee, of Nasa's Ames Research Center and the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute, both in California.
However, Mars has different seasons, polar ice caps, extinct volcanoes, canyons and weather.
"It’s likely there is water in ice form on the surface of Mars and in the rocks below," said Kotzen.
"We set up an aquaponic system to test how to supply Martians with food in the future."
FISH AND CHIPS
This food production system sees fish being raised in tanks of water where plants are also grown, so that the nutrient-rich waste from the fish provides food for the plants and the plants keep the water clean.
Waste from the fish is converted by bacteria that occur naturally in water into nutrients for the plants.
The water is returned to the fish after being cleaned by the plants.
Fortunately, the vegetables don't taste of fish, said Kotzen.
The uni team explored how to produce fish and vegetables in a Mars-like environment.
The scientists also checked whether liquid waste from the aquaponics could simulate Martian regoliths - weathered rock, grit and sands that sit above the bedrock.
"Martian regoliths are made only of minerals... and thus lacking the nutrients plants need," he said.
And there was a positive result, as the study found nutrients from the fish water can help grow plants in the hydroponic parts of the aquaponic system.
MORE ON MARS
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun
Mars seems to be a promising nearby place to search for life beyond Earth, says Nasa.
"It’s the only planet we know of inhabited entirely by robots," the space agency joked.
That's because it is the only planet we've sent multiple rovers to roam the alien landscape - located 140 million miles from Earth.
Known for being dry, rocky, and bitterly cold, Mars also has seasons, polar ice caps, extinct volcanoes, canyons and weather.
The planet has a very thin atmosphere.
It's one of the easiest planets to spot in the night sky – as it looks like a bright red point of light.
Mars was named by the Romans for their god of war because its reddish color was reminiscent of blood.
The Egyptians called it "Her Desher," meaning "the red one.";
Today, it is frequently called the "Red Planet" because iron minerals in the Martian dirt oxidize, or rust, causing the surface to look red.
Mars remains one of the most explored bodies in our solar system.
Nasa missions have found lots of evidence that Mars was much wetter and warmer, with a thicker atmosphere, billions of years ago.
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It could also "potentially work in the Martian regoliths, when treated with effluents taken from the aquaponic systems," Kotzen said.
"We successfully grew potatoes, tomatoes, dwarf beans, carrots, lettuce, spring onions, chives and basil in plant pots containing simulated Martian regoliths, where nutrients were added with the fish water."
The team used tilapia - a mild-flavored species of white freshwater fish found in Africa and the Middle East.
"They are easy to care for and grow relatively quickly, reaching maturity in five to seven months," added Kotzen.
Researchers at Greenwich are also researching alternative fish food, including protein from black soldier fly larvae, which potentially could be produced on Mars.
The expert said the fish "thrived" in the tests.
The system could be replicated in indoor climate-controlled growing tanks on Mars, he added.
"Aquaponics is one of the most sustainable methods of food production as it saves so much water," Kotzen said.
ETHICAL CONCERNS
But, he pointed out that the test results were not a perfect comparison to Earth's abundance and variety of life-forms.
There are ethical considerations, too - so Mars doesn't also end up with pollution problems, as seen on our planet.
"This project offers a solution for food production away from Earth," he added.
"Putting mankind on Mars is a way to ensure the survival of humans in case of disaster on Earth.
"But, we need to first and foremost protect our landscapes, habitats and biodiversity, and ensure every person on this planet is cared for.
"Additionally, we need to ensure that we better protect space and the other planets from our trash.
"We also need to have answers to some hard ethical questions about whether it is right to take other life-forms beyond Earth, where they have evolved over millions of years."
SIX TECHNOLOGIES NASA NEEDS TO SEND HUMANS TO MARS
Nasa is working on these six things to make future human missions to the red planet possible...
Powerful propulsion systems: To get people to Mars and back to Earth quicker. It needs to be nuclear-enabled to reduce travel time.
Inflatable heat shield to land astronauts on other planets: This tech could land spacecraft on any planet with an atmosphere.
High-tech Martian spacesuits: Could include life support functionality in the CO2-rich atmosphere, and modified outer garments to keep astronauts warm during the Martian winter and prevent overheating in the summer season.
Martian home and lab on wheels: Nasa will combine the first Martian home and vehicle into a single rover complete with breathable air.
Uninterrupted power: The system will need to be lightweight and capable of running regardless of its location or the weather on the red planet.
Laser communications to send more information home: To send large amounts of real-time information and data, including high-definition images and video feeds.
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has said that Mars seems to be a promising nearby place to search for life beyond Earth.
The Perseverance rover has scoured an ancient Martian crater, while the Mars Curiosity rover captured evidence of abundant water, organic molecules and habitable environments in the planet's distant past.
"Technology development has already begun to enable a crewed Mars mission as early as the 2030s," the said in 2020.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
In February 2024, called for volunteers to spend a year living in a simulated version of the red planet.
The four-person volunteer crew will live and work inside a 1,700-sq-foot, 3D-printed habitat based at Nasa’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.