fredericpeyrusson-experiment

The effect of hydrogel on the plants growth in the GreenHab

In the next long-duration exploration, plant systems will become essential components: the farther and longer humans go away from Earth, the greater the need to be able to grow plants for food and atmosphere recycling. Thus, we definitely need robust and innovative plant systems which work in particular environments and with limited equipment, space, water and suitable media for plant growth. Our MDRS mission aims at furthering already existing research, and we propose to study the effect of hydrogels on the plants’ growth. Hydrogels are polymers absorbing large quantities of water and fixing seedling roots. Thus, they can considerably reduce plants’ stress water loss and improve their growth and survival. Hydogels will be tested in a context of reduced irrigation and using local soil powder, generally considered as less suitable for plant growth. Hydrogels could provide a robust and innovative equipment to set up a Greenhouse, enhancing growth and quality and/or allowing the use of in situ loam from Martian soil powder to support good plant growth.

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Biocompatibility of the simulated Martian environment for Terrestrial organism

Future long-duration space missions raise a lot of challenging questions. Can terrestrial organisms survive in a Mars environment, and what are the physical and chemical limits for Life? Biocompatibility of the Martian environment for terrestrial organisms is of particular interest for Astrobiology and space exploration.

In that sense, we propose to study adaptation and survival strategies of microorganisms in a simulated Martian environment. This will imply the study of the ability of bacteria to produce and maintain spores and their mechanisms of adaptation to those unfavorable environments. This experiment could allow for the collection of precious information for biocompatibility of the Martian environment for Terrestrial organisms, establish a model for those studies, and figure out the probabilities and limitations for life to be distributed among planets of Solar System.

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© M.A.R.S. UCLouvain 2020