Analysis of soil chemical composition

Bringing human life on a mission will be the first step of the Mars odyssey. Bringing humans to Mars is already a challenge, but keeping them alive is another one, and a much more complex one. In order to reach this objective, the humans who will live on the Red Planet will have to produce their own food most certainly by agriculture. Unfortunately, Martian soil is completely different from Earth’s and the agriculture areas have to be carefully chosen to avoid wasting seeds in a plantation doomed to death because of bad soil. This is why we propose to measure nitrogen, phosphorus and boron concentration to make sure that soil contains the required elements for growing crops. Nevertheless, physiochemical parameters are also highly decisive. To have better control of crop life and soil viability we will measure soil pH (acidity), but also soil electrical conductivity, which is related to ions concentration of various elements. By measuring all these parameters, we will provide strong knowledge of Mars soil composition which will facilitate agriculture on Martian soil.