Comparative of Shoot and Root Growth of Water Spinach (Ipomoea aquatica) Cultivated in Mars Global Simulant MGS-1 with or without Addition Earth Soil Illuminated by LED light in Indoor Environment

Abstract

Mars has been a target for human colonization for centuries. When the time comes for humans to settle Mars, they will need food for survival. It is implausible to send a lot of fresh food to Mars. Therefore, we could instead cultivate plants at the site itself, using Martian soil in an indoor environment. In this study, we evaluated the shoot and root growth of water spinach (Ipomoea aquatica) in Mars Simulant or combination of Mars Simulant with earth soil at indoor environment using LED lighting. The result showed that water spinach can grow on earth soil and Mars Global Simulant MGS-1 for 28 days (about 4 weeks) without any addition of nutrients aside from water. Growth in earth soil is much better than on Mars Global Simulant MGS-1, and even 75 % Mars Global Simulant MGS-1: 25 % earth soil is slightly better than 100 % Mars Global Simulant MGS-1. The growth of water spinach shoots in Mars Simulant was compared to poor water spinach root growth in Mars Simulant. Our results provided the insight that it is possible to grow water spinach in Mars Simulant indoors and to boost its growth, physical properties and chemical composition of Mars Simulant improvement was needed.