Questions tagged [plants]

Questions regarding living organisms of kingdom Plantae, such as tomatoes, squash, and apple trees.

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39 votes
3 answers
13k views

Why did the Chinese send flies and plants to the far side of the moon?

The Chinese space craft that just landed on the moon had a tube with a biosphere in with flies and plants. What are they expecting to learn? Didn't we already experiment that on the ISS? Source ...
Geordi La Forge's user avatar
22 votes
4 answers
6k views

Oxygen self-supply by plants

Plants produce oxygen, we know. This might make plants useful in the supply system of possible colonies on other planets or moons. But how efficient they are? Which is the maximum amount of oxygens ...
Zoltán Schmidt's user avatar
22 votes
2 answers
10k views

Is it possible to grow plants on Mars?

If we provide adequate water supply will it be possible to grow plants/seeds/moss/algae (from Earth) on Mars? How different are Mars soil from Earth's soil?
jorel's user avatar
  • 789
18 votes
4 answers
16k views

How many plants would be needed to produce oxygen enough for 20 humans?

Does it depend on the type of plants and how much sunlight they get too?
opaque_dragon's user avatar
17 votes
3 answers
2k views

Can plants grow in microgravity?

If a manned mission to another far-off planet were to take place, the crew probably would need something more sustainable than tubes for a food resource - plants would probably be the best option. ...
user avatar
13 votes
2 answers
4k views

Removing perchlorate from Mars surface soil

It's known that there's a lot of perchlorate contained in Mars' surface soil. But could we take the toxic part out and make it become plantable? If so, how might this be done in a practical way on ...
haotien's user avatar
  • 131
12 votes
1 answer
2k views

How deep a valley or trench would be needed on Mars to provide the same atmospheric pressure as 6 km above sea level on Earth?

Atmospheric pressure increases the deeper you go & the highest growing plants on Earth have been found at a height of 6 km so how deep a trench would we need on Mars to provide similar air ...
Pelinore's user avatar
  • 712
12 votes
1 answer
208 views

How does plant growing medium not scatter around?

I know of 2 plant growing mediums: soil and liquid filled with vital components for plant growth. On Earth, when soil dries a bit, small particles of it will be carried by wind, moved by vibrations ...
user1306322's user avatar
11 votes
1 answer
337 views

Can a semipermeable greenhouse be used to extract CO2 from the Martian atmosphere and help provide oxygen to a colony without using a pump?

When doing an experiment on growing plants in sealed plastic bottles, I learned that many plastics, such as PET used for soft drinks bottles, are more permeable to CO2 than to N2 or O2 (see table 2 of ...
Will Stevens's user avatar
10 votes
4 answers
33k views

Why can't plants grow on Mars?

Mars has a lot of carbon dioxide in its atmosphere. It also gets a lot of sunlight. On Earth, plants use carbon dioxide and sunlight for photosynthesis. So, why can't plants live on Mars?
Reemi Ali's user avatar
  • 101
10 votes
3 answers
1k views

Agriculture on an exoplanet

If we find a hypothetical Earth-like planet A with a rocky terrain that we could colonize, how would we go about planting the first plants, knowing that there is a deficient of nutrients and the ...
Joel George V's user avatar
10 votes
1 answer
926 views

Is there any reason Cyanobacteria or Lichens can't survive on Mars?

According to this article "Mars atmosphere is supersaturated with water" & according to answers to this physics stack exchange question conditions do exist on the surface of Mars where fluid water ...
Pelinore's user avatar
  • 712
10 votes
1 answer
778 views

Is hydroponics the only viable solution to plant growth on Mars?

The problem with Mars is that it's surface is not very rich in minerals important to plants. There is also a significant lack of water on Mars. Does this mean that the only viable solution to plant ...
user avatar
9 votes
2 answers
2k views

Using bamboo as space construction material

Due to the miracle of biology a bamboo plant can transform water, atmosphere, sunlight, and nutrients into a long and stable rod or tube at a incredible growth speeds (some species can grow 90cm/35 ...
Dragongeek's user avatar
  • 18.6k
9 votes
1 answer
221 views

What are the criteria to select plants for study in space?

Me? I like roast aubergines cooked the way Mum makes it with mashed potatoes deep-fried, omelette, and roti. If I travel in space that would be the staple in my tiffin. In my on-board farm would loom ...
Everyone's user avatar
  • 13.6k
9 votes
1 answer
469 views

Have there been at least continuous periods of plants growing on the ISS?

I know there have been some experiments in hydroponics that are addressing issues related to growing significant quantities of food and even fresh vegetables in space in the future. I was wondering; ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 149k
8 votes
5 answers
1k views

Would it be feasible to use natural light to grow plants on Mars?

Would we need to use natural lighting to grow crops on Mars instead of just going with artificial LED lights? What are the pros and cons of using natural lighting, and do you think that a future Mars ...
opaque_dragon's user avatar
8 votes
2 answers
263 views

What would be the ideal hydroponic crops for long duration travels?

By "ideal" I mean most nutritious, less maintenance as possible, less space consuming, etc. I guess this could be for any long-duration flights, as a means of self sustenance in addition to supplies, ...
CodingDuckling's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
921 views

Can plants thrive without atmospheric nitrogen?

One of deficit resources on Mars is nitrogen. There's a plenty of carbon dioxide, and a modest amount of water. There's a deficit of nitrogen, but AFAIK plants use nitrogen in compounds found in soil, ...
SF.'s user avatar
  • 55k
5 votes
1 answer
1k views

Do spaceships carry plants? If not, why?

Has there ever been an experiment were a plant was brought on board? I would think that if a plant was able to go through normal cycles of photosynthesis, it would be helpful to bring a plant on board ...
John Riselvato's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
184 views

Growing Mars crops in sunlight vs LEDs

There is extensive research on growing food on Mars, and I'm particularly interested in optimizing food production. Given equal area in a greenhouse, is it more efficient to grow crops on Martian ...
MrMartin's user avatar
  • 185
5 votes
1 answer
232 views

Where is that lunar-grown cotton seed sprout?

Most of us have seen this picture of the cotton seed currently sprouting inside a Chinese lander on the far side of the moon: Source The image shows see a plastic grid with a gelatinous overlay of ...
Daniel Griscom's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
184 views

Cubic meters of martian greenhouse required

I'm trying to figure out how big a martian greenhouse would need to be to feed one person or supplement a significant portion of their diet. Question: What is the maximum amount of Calories one cubic ...
Dragongeek's user avatar
  • 18.6k
5 votes
1 answer
187 views

Mars greenhouse accessibility

Let's say a Mars outpost has an inflatable greenhouse. First, it is likely to be high-CO2, as CO2 is easy to acquire and increases plant growth. Second, it may be low-pressure, as plants don't need as ...
user19742's user avatar
  • 957
2 votes
0 answers
148 views

How do you simulate the effects of microgravity on plants?

My team and I are working on planting in space. What equipment/techniques are used to simulate microgravity on earth for such experiments?
Joshua Ibim's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
187 views

Range of atmospheric pressure and composition for plant survival?

I am currently working on a college senior design team that is looking at developing a small modular habitat that could sustain plant growth. These small modules would not include humans, so we only ...
Gigaboggie's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
195 views

Can a symbiosis be sustained between plants and 1 person on Mars?

This question How many plants would be needed to produce oxygen enough for 20 humans? is a good question but does not cover soil nutrients and food source for the people. Is there a set of plants ...
Muze's user avatar
  • 1
1 vote
0 answers
76 views

How would low gravity on Mars be a stress factor on plants?

As a 12 year old doing a science project for my local science fair I have found that many experiments that try to simulate how the environment would be like on Mars while growing plants always forget ...
user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
380 views

How could we grow plants on mars? [duplicate]

I was wondering there are ways to grow plants on the planet Mars and what would be needed to help them grow etc. I know some key factors would be full spectrum bulbs and violet blue lights but there ...
matt's user avatar
  • 11