Scientists Have Figured out
How to Grow Food on Mars A group of researchers from Harvard, Edinburgh
and California believe they may have engineered a
way to support photosynthetic life on Mars. They have created aerogel sheets that could
transform the planet’s cold, arid surface into
land able to sustain vegetative life. The sheets mimics the greenhouse effect found on
Earth by trapping energy from the sun and melting
enough subsurface ice to allow plants to survive. It is made up of 97% air, and 2-3cm of these sheets
is enough to block harmful UV rays and only allow
visible light through for photosynthesis. Researchers, via
‘Nature Astronomy’ Although others factors still need to be
addressed, such as the toxic chemicals
and radiation present in the planet’s soil, researcher Robin Wordsworth believes
their aerogel sheets are the future of
transforming Mars into a fertile oasis. Robin Wordsworth,
via The Guardian