The urine could be used by space farmers. The German Space Agency is currently growing tomatoes fertilized with human urine.
Sometimes reality goes beyond fiction. Matt Damon led by example in Alone on Mars, by fertilizing potatoes with its droppings. The scenario hit the nail on the head. Indeed, the astronauts who will go to the red planet will probably have to use their bladder. These aren’t potatoes, but tomatoes, which the German Space Agency wants to grow using partly human urine.
“To be honest, this isn’t the best tomato I’ve ever eaten; the skin is thick and the taste slightly bitter ”, testifies the British journalist Richard Hollingham, author of a report published on the site of the BBC. This would almost make you regret the bland vegetables available in the supermarket.
Harsh conditions
If the planet Mars is a dream, space agencies around the world have far more earthly concerns in mind. How to feed astronauts on a mission? The answer is clear: a shipment of food will not be enough. For such a long trip, space travelers will have to produce their own pittance.
The magnitude of the problem lies in the nature of the red planet. The average surface temperature is -63 ° C. The ground is also subject to solar winds and space radiation. It is estimated that the irradiation is 2.5 times stronger there than on board the International Space Station (ISS). The potato seems able to resist it, just like the tomato.
A major question remains, that of culture. On this subject, the German Space Agency (DLR) is formal, water alone will not be sufficient. Nutrients and bacteria must be present. Two things that urine can provide. Not very inviting, of course, but effective. Laboratory tests are conclusive: the biological liquid makes it possible to grow completely edible tomatoes. They are just a little more bitter than usual.
A planned trip to space
Concretely, the Germans have developed a specific urine, partly human and partly synthetic. This allows them to precisely control the composition of the liquid. Pumice stone harbors bacteria capable of “digesting” urine and converting the ammonia it contains into nitrites and nitrate salts. Here is the fertilizer.
It now remains to confirm these results under conditions as close to life on Mars as possible. NASA has launched research on the potato in a center in southern Peru, in the heart of the Pampa de la Joya desert, where the soil is very close to that of the Red Planet.
The German Space Agency is betting on a partnership with Space-X. It plans to launch a satellite populated with several small greenhouses and 16 cameras. At an altitude of 600 km, the tomatoes will be subjected to lunar gravity, then Martian, under the watchful eye of researchers. They will germinate and grow there using LED lighting that will simulate the alternation between day and night.
“The finish line is in sight, welcomes the DLR in a press release published in 2016. The satellite and its scientific cargo will take off aboard the Falcon 9 in the second half of 2017. ”History does not say who will be in charge of tasting the tomatoes when they return to Earth.
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