Earthworms can reproduce in Mars soil simulant

#1

Post by scadge » Thu, Dec 21, 2017, 9:25 AM UTC

Earthworms can reproduce in Mars soil simulant
wur.nl

Re: Earthworms can reproduce in Mars soil simulant

#2

Post by EGreg » Sun, Dec 24, 2017, 6:12 PM UTC

So it might work! Can we boostrap a real, nutrient-rich regolith and ecosystem from scratch? That would be some amazing terraforming - and some major value for mankind.

And here I thought The Martian's most unrealistic part was growing the potatoes.

Re: Earthworms can reproduce in Mars soil simulant

#3

Post by robinduckett » Sun, Dec 24, 2017, 6:23 PM UTC

But can they reproduce in the soil at the same range of air pressure found in habitats, with the same gravity / gas mixture? Can they still reproduce after 50 years?

Re: Earthworms can reproduce in Mars soil simulant

#4

Post by NegativeLatency » Sun, Dec 24, 2017, 6:33 PM UTC

robinduckett wrote: post #3

But can they reproduce in the soil at the same range of air pressure found in habitats, with the same gravity / gas mixture? Can they still reproduce after 50 years?

You could make pressurized greenhouses on mars to simulate earth conditions.

Re: Earthworms can reproduce in Mars soil simulant

#5

Post by NegativeLatency » Sun, Dec 24, 2017, 6:34 PM UTC

If you find this interesting you might appreciate the Red Mars series by Kim Stanley Robinson.

Re: Earthworms can reproduce in Mars soil simulant

#6

Post by aiofgniaotnio » Sun, Dec 24, 2017, 6:47 PM UTC

EGreg wrote: post #2

So it might work! Can we boostrap a real, nutrient-rich regolith and ecosystem from scratch? That would be some amazing terraforming - and some major value for mankind. And here I thought The Martian's most unrealistic part was growing the potatoes.

The Martian is still pretty unrealistic. It's not possible to get enough light using the setup described in the book.

Re: Earthworms can reproduce in Mars soil simulant

#7

Post by QAPereo » Sun, Dec 24, 2017, 6:51 PM UTC

NegativeLatency wrote: post #4

robinduckett wrote: post #3

But can they reproduce in the soil at the same range of air pressure found in habitats, with the same gravity / gas mixture? Can they still reproduce after 50 years?

You could make pressurized greenhouses on mars to simulate earth conditions.

Inflatable, radiation shielding, light emitting? How.

Edit: Plants and non-human animals wouldn’t appreciate Martian rads either.

Re: Earthworms can reproduce in Mars soil simulant

#8

Post by aetherson » Sun, Dec 24, 2017, 6:53 PM UTC

QAPereo wrote: post #7

NegativeLatency wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could make pressurized greenhouses on mars to simulate earth conditions.

Inflatable, radiation shielding, light emitting? How. Edit: Plants and non-human animals wouldn’t appreciate Martian rads either.

They don't really need to be radiation shielding or light emitting. People don't need to live there, just plants and animals. And insolation on Mars is sufficient for light.

Re: Earthworms can reproduce in Mars soil simulant

#9

Post by dweekly » Sun, Dec 24, 2017, 6:59 PM UTC

Of course it would turn out that the first thing we could grow and eat on Mars would be rocket.

Re: Earthworms can reproduce in Mars soil simulant

#10

Post by azernik » Sun, Dec 24, 2017, 7:08 PM UTC

robinduckett wrote: post #3

But can they reproduce in the soil at the same range of air pressure found in habitats, with the same gravity / gas mixture? Can they still reproduce after 50 years?

Need to run that experiment on the ISS in a Mars-gravity centrifuge.

Despite a lifetime of 6-9 years, though, their generation length is only a few months; if they reproduce in that radiation environment for a year or three and there aren't serious mutations, they'll probably be okay in the long run.