Why potatoes are the most innovative product. Space tubers: scientists grew potatoes in “Martian” conditions An astronaut grows potatoes on Mars
Why potatoes are the most innovative product
A flight to Mars presents a vast field for fantasy and speculation, but one thing is certain: there will certainly be potatoes on the table of the astronauts who will embark on a three-year journey to the Red Planet. And fresh: they, of course, will not carry bags of potatoes with them, but will collect the harvest in flight. In 1995, potatoes became the first vegetable grown in space, on board the space shuttle Columbia.
SERGEY MANUKOV
On par with iron
In the list of the most common edible crops, potatoes take an honorable fourth place after rice, wheat and corn. Today, hundreds of potato varieties are grown in 120–130 countries around the world.
Every day, more than a billion people eat at least one potato. Someone calculated that if a four-lane highway were covered with an annual potato harvest, it would circle the globe at the equator six times.
China ranks first in potato production, where tuberous nightshade arrived at the end of the Ming Dynasty, in the first half of the 17th century. China produces up to a quarter of the world's potatoes (almost 100 million tons in 2016). For comparison: in Russia last year about 30 million tons of this crop were grown.
In America, potatoes are the second food product after milk (it is no coincidence that “Potato Head” became the first children's toy to be advertised on American television in 1952).
Thousands of American children were familiar with Mr. Potato Head - made of plastic and with additional accessories
Photo: Picture Post/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Potatoes are loved and respected all over the world. The UN declared 2008 the International Year of the Potato. The purpose of the action was to promote it as a food product that can feed tens of millions of starving people in Africa and Asia.
The main advantages of potatoes over wheat and other grains, which were the main agricultural crops in Europe in the 16th–19th centuries, are their unpretentiousness and ease of cultivation. Potatoes are easier to store, they satisfy hunger faster and better. In any form, potatoes are cheaper than wheat or rye bread.
Of course, this was not always the case. At the very end of the 19th century, for example, during the Klondike gold rush, potatoes were literally worth their weight in gold: the vitamin C contained in the tubers helps fight scurvy.
Scientists made their contribution to the popularization of this agricultural crop by discovering a rich set of vitamins and nutrients in potatoes. 100 g of potatoes contains 78.6 g of water, 16.3 g of carbohydrates, 1.4 g of dietary fiber, 2 g of protein, 0.4 g of fat. It contains a lot of vitamins (in addition to C, these are E, K, B6), minerals and metals (magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, etc.).
Potatoes have more vitamin C than oranges, more potassium than bananas, and more fiber than apples.
One baked potato contains 21% of the recommended daily intake of vitamin B6, 40% vitamin C, 20% potassium and 12% fiber.
The energy value of a medium-sized potato is about 110 calories. For comparison: a cup of rice has 225 calories, a plate of pasta has 115.
To prove that potatoes contain almost all the nutrients needed by humans, Chris Voight, executive director of the Washington State Potato Commission, ate only potatoes for 60 days in the fall of 2010. He ate 20 potatoes a day and claimed that he felt great. Scientists have confirmed that a person can live for some time on potatoes and milk without harm to health (milk is necessary because potatoes are low in vitamins A and D).
Potatoes also had a huge impact on the economy of the Old World. According to some reports, thanks to this representative of the nightshade family, it was possible to double the energy value of the European diet and put an end to the regularly occurring crop failures and the resulting famine that had tormented Europe for centuries. The fact is that over time, the governments of the countries of the Old World began to institutionalize food production: in order to get healthy workers, soldiers and employees, the authorities encouraged the mass production of the necessary products, one of which was potatoes, and supported peasants and farmers. The result of this practical policy was the rapid growth of the continent's population. Many historians and economists believe that the widespread introduction of potatoes into the European diet and a sharp jump in their yields led to the fact that the population of Europe increased from 140 million people in 1750 to 266 million in 1850. It is no coincidence that Friedrich Engels believed that in terms of the historical and revolutionary role in the life of mankind, potatoes are not inferior to iron.
“Iron began to serve man,” he wrote in “The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State,” “the last and most important of all types of raw materials that played a revolutionary role in history, the last one until the advent of potatoes.”
Long way to Europe
Archaeologists claim that potatoes began to be cultivated 8 thousand years ago in the South American Andes, in the territory of modern Peru. The distant ancestors of today's farmers grew up to 400 varieties of this tuberous plant.
The importance of potatoes for the Incas is evidenced by the presence of a “potato” goddess among them. She was the daughter of the earth goddess Pachamama, and her name was Axomama.
The Incas chose the most irregularly shaped potatoes and asked them for a good harvest.
Of course, South Americans primarily ate potatoes, but they also had other functions. For example, the Incas took a length of about an hour as a unit of time - that’s how long the tubers were cooked.
Potatoes were also widely used in medicine: they were applied to broken bones so that they would heal faster; it helped with rheumatism and improved digestion. Thin slices of potatoes and potato juice have been used to successfully treat sunburn and frostbite. It was believed that a potato tuber could soothe a toothache. Baked potatoes applied to the throat were used to treat sore throat.
Potatoes were brought to Europe by Spanish conquistadors in the mid-16th century. The first to do this, apparently, was Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada, who conquered Colombia for the Spanish crown; or Pedro Cieza de Leon, who was not only a soldier, but also an explorer and priest. It was from his fundamental work “Chronicle of Peru” that Europeans learned about potatoes.
The first European country where they started eating potatoes, of course, was Spain. Madrid quickly drew attention to the potential of potatoes for the needs of the army. Spain in the 16th century was the most powerful state in the Old World and had extensive possessions. Potatoes were perfectly suited for supplying the army on campaigns. In addition, as already mentioned, he helped in the fight against scurvy.
The first place beyond the borders of Central and South America where potatoes were cultivated was the Canary Islands in 1567, and the first place where they were consumed by the civilian population was one of the hospitals in Seville in 1573.
Of course, potatoes were spread throughout Europe not only by Spanish soldiers who fought in Italy, Holland, Germany, and other countries. King Philip II, who received potatoes from Peru, sent several tubers as a gift to Pope Gregory XIII. The Pontiff sent them to Holland to the nuncio, who was ill. From the papal ambassador, the potato came to the most famous botanist of the 16th century, Charles Clusius, who planted it in several cities. True, he grew it like... a flower.
Great Potato Famine
By 1640, potatoes were known almost everywhere in Europe, but, except in Spain and Ireland, they were used to feed livestock. Potatoes were brought to Ireland in 1589 by the navigator, soldier and statesman Sir Walter Raleigh. He planted 40,000 acres of fields with this crop near Cork, in the southwest of the island.
Ireland quickly became the most potato-rich country in Europe. By the early 40s of the 19th century, potatoes occupied, according to various sources, from a third to a half of arable land on the island. Almost half of the Irish ate potatoes exclusively.
Of course, the other half of the islanders also ate potatoes, but there were other foods in their diet.
This dependence on potatoes played a cruel joke on the Irish. In 1845, of course, a very harmful mushroom was accidentally brought from North America to the Emerald Isle, the name of which “phytophthora” is not accidentally translated from Latin as “destroying a plant.” Late blight brought late blight, a plant disease that attacks tubers and leaves, to Ireland and the continent. Fate clearly did not favor Ireland. That same year there was an unusually cold and wet summer. This weather is ideal for the growth of the fungus. The result was terrible potato harvest failures in 1845–1849 and a severe famine that reversed the demographic history of the island. The population of Ireland, which was 8.4 million people in 1844, had dropped to 6.6 million by 1851. At the beginning of the twentieth century, there were half as many Irish people as half a century earlier: at least a million died from hunger and disease, another million went to searching for a better life. B O The majority settled in the USA, Canada, Great Britain and Australia.
Of course, late blight was not limited to Ireland. The potato crop failed in almost all European countries, but the damage, due to much less dependence, was much less than in Ireland.
Despite the Great Famine, the Irish maintained their love of potatoes. Suffice it to say that the average Irishman now eats 90kg of potatoes a year, and the British - 55.6kg. The Russians are significantly higher in the “potato” ranking with their 112 kg per capita, although they are not in first place.
Potato King
Another “potato” country in Europe in the 18th century was Prussia. Moreover, “earth apples,” as potatoes were called until the 19th century, were promoted by the Prussian king Frederick II. Of course, he received the nickname “Great” not for his propaganda of potatoes, but for other merits. The promotion of potatoes, expressed, for example, in the Potato Decree (1756), obliging peasants to grow them under pain of heavy fines and other punishments, earned him the nickname “Potato King.”
Despite the punishments, Prussian peasants were in no hurry to include potatoes in their diet. At best, they fed it to pigs, and at worst, they simply burned it or destroyed it in other ways. It got to the point that the potato fields had to be guarded by soldiers.
The Prussians did not eat potatoes because they were afraid of getting... leprosy. In many European countries, this terrible disease was attributed to potatoes - probably due to the external similarity of growths on tubers with ulcers.
And yet, Frederick managed to overcome the superstitions of his subjects. One day he went out onto the balcony of the palace in Breslau (Wroclaw) and in front of the amazed citizens began to eat... potatoes. The stubborn Prussians thought: maybe potatoes are not so terrible if the king himself eats them? The attitude towards potatoes was finally changed by the Seven Years' War. It was potatoes that saved Prussia from the famine prepared for it by the blockade of Austria and Russia.
By the way, potatoes saved Prussia from starvation more than once. This year marks the 140th anniversary of the War of the Bavarian Succession. The second, less common, at least among historians, name for this armed conflict between Prussia and Austria is the Potato War. Hostilities began in July 1778. They were conducted sluggishly and lasted less than a year. The parties did not so much fight with each other as they tried to interfere with the enemy’s food supply in order to force them to surrender. As a result, both armies were forced to eat potatoes and plums.
Potato riots
Potatoes came to Russia at the end of the 17th century. Peter I, who went to Europe with the Grand Embassy, sent a bag of strange tubers to Moscow from Holland.
The fate of potatoes in Russia is generally similar to what happened to them in other European countries: at first they were considered poisonous, but over time they conquered the Russians and became one of the main foodstuffs of the inhabitants of the Russian Empire.
Of course, there was some national flavor too. A special place in the history of potatoes in Russia is occupied by riots, which were called potato riots.
Already three years after the accession to the throne of Catherine II, in 1765, a decree was issued on the “breeding of earthen apples.” It is curious that people continued to call it an “apple” - not just an “earth apple”, but a “devil’s apple” - even in the 19th century. Governors were obliged to send annual reports to St. Petersburg on the “potatoization” of the provinces entrusted to them.
They tried to overcome the reluctance of peasants to grow potatoes, as usual, with punitive measures.
It is known, for example, that in the middle of the 19th century, peasants of the Yenisei province who refused to cultivate potatoes were sent to Belarus for the construction of the Bobruisk fortress.
Naturally, the punitive measures introduced on the initiative of the Minister of State Property Count Kiselyov, who ordered the allocation of peasant lands for planting potatoes, could not but cause a response. A series of riots swept across the empire in the 1830s and 1840s, involving up to half a million people who did not want to grow potatoes. Troops were called in to quell the riots. Participants in the unrest were tried, imprisoned and flogged with spitzrutens (often beaten to death).
But, despite everything, potatoes won in Russia. By the end of the 19th century, over 1.5 million hectares were occupied by it, and at the beginning of the last century it became so firmly established in the Russian diet that it was rightfully considered “second bread.”
The man who fed the French to their fill
Antoine-Augustin Parmentier - scientist, politician, agronomist and the man who taught France to eat potatoes
Photo: Photononstop / DIOMEDIA, Photononstop / HervÚ Gyssels / DIOMEDIA
In the overwhelming majority of cases, people who were captured do not have the best memories of this period of their lives. The French pharmacist and chemist Antoine-Augustin Parmentier is in the minority in this sense. The three-year stay in captivity radically changed his entire future life.
Antoine-Augustin Parmentier was born on August 12, 1737 in the north of France, in the town of Montdidier. The father died very early, the boy was raised by his mother. At the age of 13, he began learning the basics of pharmacy from the city pharmacist. At 18, Antoine-Augustin went to Paris and got a job in a relative's pharmacy.
The young man had excellent memory and intelligence, he grasped everything on the fly. Two years later, he decided to become an army pharmacist and enlisted in the army. Parmentier served under the famous pharmacist and chemist Pierre Bayen, with whom he quickly became friends. Antoine-Augustin's military career was rapid: at the age of 24 he already held the post of deputy chief pharmacist of the army. Despite his young age, Antoine-Augustin Parmentier won the respect of both soldiers and colleagues.
At that time, the Seven Years' War was raging in Europe. Parmentier was captured by the Prussians, where he remained until the end of the war. What he remembered most about his three-year captivity was the food. Of course, he was not fed delicious dishes - he had to eat almost only potatoes. During these three years he ate more potatoes than in the previous two decades. This is not surprising, because before his captivity Antoine-Augustin did not eat potatoes at all for one simple reason.
In 1748, the French Parliament banned the growing and eating of potatoes in the kingdom, which were considered a poisonous plant.
After living exclusively on potatoes for three years, Parmentier came to the conclusion that the French fears regarding this crop were greatly exaggerated. He could judge from his own experience that potatoes were harmless. Moreover, Antoine-Augustin, who was not only a good pharmacist, but also a chemist, had no doubt that the disgraced plant had high nutritional properties.
Of course, it would be a great exaggeration to say that Parmentier felt deep gratitude to the Prussians. Despite his acquaintance with potatoes, which radically changed his whole life, he did not have the warmest feelings towards the Germans, and many years after the war he refused the offer to become the chief pharmacist at the court in Berlin.
The 18th century is considered the century of enlightenment, the century of the flourishing of sciences and great scientists. Wheat, the main ingredient of the staple of the French diet - bread, was a very capricious plant. In addition, the second half of the 18th - early 19th centuries saw the third phase of the Little Ice Age, accompanied by a sharp cooling. This led to frequent crop failures of major crops, including wheat, and numerous casualties among the poor who died of starvation. All this happened before the eyes of Antoine-Augustin Parmentier. He returned home from captivity, eager to replace wheat on the French table with potatoes, which were considered a dirty plant because the edible part of it, the tubers, grew in the ground and was used as feed for livestock, primarily pigs.
In Paris, Antoine-Augustin Parmentier continued his studies in chemistry, physics and botany. He worked hard and earned good money, but spent all his money on books.
In the fall of 1766, Parmentier became the chief pharmacist of the Invalides. Throughout his six years in this post, he experimented with plants in a small garden, trying to increase their nutritional value.
During his years of work at the Invalides, Antoine-Augustin recklessly ruined his relationship with the church. He wanted to plant a large vegetable garden for experiments with potatoes on land that, as it turned out, belonged to nuns. Dissatisfied with the encroachment on their property, the nuns began to write denunciations against the impudent pharmacist, who eventually lost his position.
All of Antoine-Augustin Parmentier's thoughts were still occupied by potatoes, with which he wanted to replace wheat. Antoine-Augustin even intended to bake bread from potato flour and developed a technology for making such bread.
Among other things, Parmentier became famous for his scientific and educational activities. In 1780, for example, he insisted on opening an Academy... of bakers, where he himself taught. “If there are schools for training people who will feed horses,” he wrote in one of his treatises, “then why shouldn’t there be a school for bakers, who are entrusted with the health of the people?”
Antoine-Augustin wrote many books, pamphlets and scientific articles. In 1772, his treatise “Investigation of nutritious vegetables, which in difficult times can replace ordinary food,” devoted mainly to potatoes, won the competition of the Besançon Academy of Sciences. A year later, another book was published in which Parmentier compared potatoes, wheat and rice in terms of nutritional qualities. In this unofficial competition, potatoes naturally took first place.
The books did not pave the way for potatoes to the French table, but they brought fame to the author, as well as a place as a royal censor (inspector). His duties included traveling around the kingdom and eliminating the causes of wheat shortages. During one of these inspection trips, he even helped fellow countrymen in Montdidier who complained about rotting wheat: Parmentier found and eliminated the cause of the disease.
Love for life
With the help of research and experiments, Antoine-Augustin Parmentier gradually managed to convince fellow scientists of the harmlessness of potatoes and even prove their practical benefits. In 1772, the ban on potatoes was officially lifted, but this could not overcome the mistrust of ordinary French people, who in the second half of the 18th century were mired in prejudices and superstitions.
At this crucial moment in the history of potatoes, Parmentier’s unexpectedly discovered talent, as we would now say, as a producer, came in very handy. Unable to pave the way for his favorite plant in an “honest” way, he decided to use a little trick.
Antoine-Augustin began by conquering the nobles. He understood perfectly well that the easiest way to do this was with the help of the royal family, with whom he was familiar through his line of service. He managed to convince Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette of the benefits of potatoes. What most influenced the king, of course, was the practical side of the matter: he really liked the idea of replacing wheat with potatoes and ridding the kingdom of hunger and uprisings.
Parmentier came up with a cunning plan. He persuaded Louis to wear a bouquet of potato flowers in the buttonhole of his doublet.
The Queen also supported the popularizer. According to one version, she attached a bouquet of potato flowers to her hat, and according to another, she inserted it into her hair. The royal couple also hosted several dinners at which potato dishes were served.
Parmentier's good relationship with Louis XVI almost backfired. After the revolution, all his property was expropriated. True, the disgrace turned out to be short-lived - the new government wanted to feed the French no less than the old one. The revolutionaries also had no need for unrest and riots.
Antoine-Augustin organized themed dinners that thundered throughout Paris. All two dozen dishes served at the table, including drinks, were made from potatoes. The fame of Parmentier's potato dinners was also contributed to by the celebrities who visited his house. It is enough to name the names of Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and the famous French naturalist, founder of modern chemistry Antoine Lavoisier. It was Jefferson, whose famous library at Monticello featured Parmentier's "potato" treatise prominently, who is credited with introducing the French fry to Americans during his time in the White House (1801–1809).
Thanks to Louis and Marie Antoinette, as well as the resourcefulness of Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, potatoes conquered the French nobility. Hoping to use potatoes to rid the kingdom of hunger, the king allocated Parmentier in 1787 a large field with an area of 54 arpans (18.3 hectares) in the town of Sablon, in the western suburbs of the capital. Antoine-Augustin planted it with potatoes and spread rumors throughout the surrounding villages that a very valuable plant was sown in the field. He ordered the soldiers guarding the field to let onlookers in, but to keep everything natural, to take money for it. In addition, the guards were supposed to not notice the theft of tubers and leave at dusk, leaving the field unguarded. The fact that the field was guarded by the military added credibility to the rumors about the high value of the potatoes.
Naturally, townspeople and peasants from neighboring villages came to the field during the day, and especially at night. They dug up potatoes, ate them and were convinced from their own experience of their harmlessness and high taste.
Ten years passed between the first “massive” success of potatoes in France and the final conquest of the kingdom - or rather, then the Republic - ten years passed: in 1785, when another crop failure occurred, potatoes helped tens of thousands of French in the north of the country escape from starvation. In 1795, he saved thousands of Parisians from starvation. Potatoes were grown in the streets and squares of the capital and even in the Tuileries Gardens during the siege of the first Paris Commune.
Another very important milestone in the history of this culture in France, according to historians, was 1794, when Madame Merigo published the first culinary reference book, which contained recipes for potato dishes. Potatoes began to be called the food of revolutionaries.
Of course, Antoine-Augustin Parmentier was not only involved in potatoes. He was a Scientist with a capital S, whose significance was expressed in the practical benefits of his research and discoveries. For example, in 1790, his joint research with Nicholas Dayeux on the chemical composition of milk received an award from the Royal Society of Medicine.
As a result of the continental blockade, sugar virtually disappeared from France. In 1808–1813, Parmentier, who had previously developed a method for obtaining sugar from beets, figured out how to obtain sugar from grapes.
He studied bread baking a lot and developed a new technology for grinding flour, which increased the efficiency of the process by 16%. And yet his favorite product remained potatoes.
Food, both during the years of the Republic and under Napoleon, who, by the way, knew our hero well, was no better than under the king. Antoine-Augustin Parmentier feverishly searched for new sources of nutrients and developed technologies for food preservation. It is difficult to find an area related to food that would not be occupied by the person who “promoted” the potato.
At the same time, Antoine-Augustin did not forget about his main profession. He held many of the highest positions in French pharmaceuticals - both in the civilian and military spheres. Parmentier served on dozens of commissions and committees dealing with medicines and the nation's health care. Suffice it to say that for almost two decades - from 1796 until his death in 1813 - he worked as inspector general of health in France.
A special place in the life of Antoine-Augustin Parmentier is occupied by research in the field of vaccination. By the way, he conducted the first experiment on vaccination against smallpox at home. Antoine-Augustin put a lot of effort into developing a vaccine for the poor. Thanks to his persistence, vaccination centers were opened in all departments of France.
During his long scientific career, Parmentier received 48 diplomas and awards from academies and institutes. He was an honorary member of the academies of Alexandria, Bern, Brussels, Florence, Geneva, Lausanne, Madrid, Milan, Naples, Turin and Vienna. Antoine-Augustin wrote 165 books and papers on agronomy, as well as thousands of scientific articles. His track record also includes “bestsellers.” The most famous, perhaps, is a reference book on pharmaceuticals, which has been republished at least a dozen times, including abroad.
Fame and fame did not prevent Parmentier from remaining a modest person. Napoleon decided to allocate ten orders of the Legion of Honor to pharmacists. Everyone was quite surprised when it turned out that the name Parmentier was not on the list of awardees. The bewilderment dissipated when it turned out that he himself compiled this list. Naturally, later the “oversight” was corrected and Antoine-Augustin also became a knight of this most honorable award in France.
During his work, Antoine-Augustin Parmentier forgot about his personal life. He was not married and had no children. Parmentier died on December 13, 1813 at the age of 77 from pulmonary consumption (tuberculosis).
Parmentier is buried in the Père Lachaise cemetery. His grave, as you might guess, is planted with flowering potatoes. Near it you can still see grateful French people who bring flowers or potato tubers instead of ordinary flowers.
During one of his audiences, Louis XVI said: “France will not forget that you found food for the poor.” And France really hasn't forgotten. Bronze statues were erected in Montdidier and Neuilly squares in honor of the “godfather of the potato”, streets in the 10th and 11th arrondissements of Paris and a station on the third line of the capital’s metro, the walls of which are decorated with “potato” mosaics, as well as hospitals were named after him , schools, libraries and much more. Including, of course, numerous dishes based on his favorite potatoes.
The main character of the film is forgotten on Mars, but he does not despair - he grows potatoes on the red planet and even manages to take off in a spaceship without windows. Many viewers had a question: is this possible in reality? We asked experts to comment on some controversial issues.
Can a tarpaulin really be so strong that it can withstand all this - both a storm on Mars and a flight? (It didn’t break right away.)
Dmitry Pobedinsky, physicist, science popularizer, video blog author"Physics from Pobedinsky" :
The tarp is strong for the atmosphere of Mars. It is very rarefied, the pressure on the surface is 160 times less than on Earth. Therefore, it is likely that the tarpaulin will be able to withstand such a load. But, of course, we need to calculate more accurately.
The tarpaulin in the film does not even seem to tear, but simply slides off when the ship is almost in orbit. Perhaps the knots have come loose due to overload and vibrations.
Is it possible to grow potatoes from Martian soil, fertilizing it with human waste products?
Dmitry Pobedinsky: Martian soil consists of inorganic compounds. Like sand. Is it possible to grow something in sand? If yes, then it will work in Martian soil.
Alexey Sakharov, Chairman of the Council of the Union of Organic Farming:
In principle, it is possible, although most likely not so quickly. The fact is that in nature, even in sterile soil (for example, sterile sand), all the chemical elements necessary for plant growth are contained, but they are in a form inaccessible to plants. The process of creating mineral substances from these chemical elements, which will be in a form digestible by the plant, is a process almost entirely associated with the activity of microorganisms. Having fertilized the sterile substrate with waste products, the protagonist introduced biota into this soil, which, after a certain period, will be able to create soil from this soil in the process of its life activity that will be sufficiently nutritious for the growth of plants, including potatoes. 
Matt Damon's character spent more than a year (500 sol) eating only potatoes, first feeding himself vitamins, but then they ran out. Nevertheless, he still had a beautiful smile, no signs of scurvy or other problems - except that he had lost weight. How is this possible?
Chief freelance nutritionist of the Ministry of Health of the Krasnodar Territory Leila Kadyrova:
It will be difficult to get scurvy by eating only potatoes. Potatoes contain vitamin C, which, when properly prepared, remains in sufficient quantities and allows the body to resist disease.
"Martian". Still from the film
But I assure you that nothing good will happen to the health of a person who eats only potatoes for a year. What are potatoes? This is a fairly satisfying, starchy vegetable that contains virtually no proteins or fats. This is a carbohydrate-containing food. If the body does not receive proteins for a long time, it means that it will not have the “building material” for all the vital systems of the body. A person will feel weak and lack energy, his performance will decrease, and the functions of the liver, nervous and circulatory systems, and pancreas will be impaired. If there is no fat in the diet, brain function will deteriorate, intestinal problems will begin, and joint diseases may occur.
It is absolutely impossible to die of hunger by eating only potatoes. But it is quite possible to develop numerous immune diseases. The body will simply lose its ability to fight viral infections.
The hero of the film ignites hydrogen to make water. Is this really possible? And is it possible to try making this at home?
Dmitry Pobedinsky: When hydrogen burns, it actually produces water. This is difficult to do at home. After all, at a minimum, you need hydrogen, but it is not sold in the store, it is still an explosive gas.
What is a gravity sling?
Dmitry Pobedinsky: The gravity sling is a gravity maneuver. You can fly past the planet and build your trajectory in such a clever way that after passing the planet your speed will increase, without using engines. The trick is that the energy of movement is exchanged with the planet. The speed and energy of the spacecraft increase. The energy of the planet decreases by the same amount, but it has such a huge mass that the decrease in its speed is negligible.
Could a person survive in a spacecraft that takes off from Mars without windows or a roof?
Dmitry Pobedinsky: If a person’s vital activity is supported by a spacesuit, then I think yes, you can take off without windows.
Why didn't the main character die from radiation on Mars? Especially using the reactor for heating?
Dmitry Pobedinsky: For heating, he did not use a reactor, but a radioisotope thermoelectric generator. It contains a radioactive substance in which a slow process of radioactive decay occurs, rather than a nuclear reaction. In general, if you disconnect it from the load, it will generate heat. Moreover, if it is not damaged, the background radiation around it will be higher than natural, but not fatal.
Previously, there was even a practice of installing such things in hard-to-reach areas - in the taiga, tundra. For powering beacons or other autonomous means of communication.
Another thing is solar radiation. The atmosphere on Mars is rarefied and provides little protection from it. But they didn’t walk there naked either, they were in spacesuits. They can protect from solar radiation.
Can there really be such strong winds on Mars?
Dmitry Pobedinsky: The wind on Mars can be fast, but it is very thin. Therefore, the most severe Martian weather will at most ruin your hairstyle.
What is one sol equal to?
Dmitry Pobedinsky: One sol is one Martian day. It is almost like ours - 24 hours 39 minutes 35.24409 seconds.
How did Hermes have enough fuel to fly halfway back to Mars, pick up Matt Damon, and fly back?
Dmitry Pobedinsky: You don't need fuel to fly in space! You are flying by inertia. Therefore, using gravitational maneuvers, I think it is possible to shuttle between planets for quite a long time (fuel is only needed to adjust the orbit and to transfer from one orbit to another). With such maneuvers you don’t need much of it.
How did the heroes manage to “swim” so famously in outer space without a safety rope?
Dmitry Pobedinsky: I have no idea. One awkward move and you'll fly away from the station.
What confused you, as a physicist, about the film?
Dmitry Pobedinsky: It was confusing how, having pierced the glove, he was able to control his movement. After all, if you apply force not to the center of gravity, then you will be twisted. And finding the center of gravity is quite difficult.
It was embarrassing how he famously sealed the cracked glass of the spacesuit with tape. It’s not even a matter of strength, but of stickiness and tightness - how did he seal everything perfectly so quickly, while still in a spacesuit?
Even in all the films where the spaceship rotates to create artificial gravity, the Coriolis force is not taken into account. She would constantly push you to the side.
On Mars, gravity is 3 times weaker. Didn't notice this in the movie. But this should be noticeable: it’s the same as weighing twenty kilograms instead of sixty, for example.
What was also confusing was that there was lighting inside the suit. Any driver knows that if the light is on inside the car, a reflection appears on the glass. It will be the same in a spacesuit. Light will be reflected from the inner surface and it will be difficult to see through the glass.
"Martian". Still from the film
Quite recently, a new fantastic work of cinema, “The Martian,” directed by Ridley Scott, was released into the world. There was an episode in which the main character had to grow his own food on Mars, a planet completely unsuitable for terrestrial agricultural activities. Almost everything worked out for him, which is why many who watched this film seriously thought about the upcoming colonization of Mars. In this article we will try to figure out whether it is possible to grow vegetables on the “red planet” today from a scientific point of view.
It should be said right away that it is impossible to grow potatoes on Mars, fertilizing them with feces and watering them with urine, as the main character in the film did. Such concentrated fertilizer will destroy any plant. Moreover, the resulting crop, if it grows, cannot be eaten as it will be toxic.
If we approach the above issue from a scientific point of view, then water on the “red planet” for growing plants can be obtained more safely. Paleontologists believe that inside Martian lava tubes (surface caves) there may indeed be water in a liquid or frozen state, and not as poisonous as on the surface. The water that flowed on Mars in the past was saturated with perchlorates, which are toxic to plants in large doses. To get into the surface caves, the liquid had to seep through the soil, which serves as a natural filter. Perchlorates partially settle in it, making the water safer.
Can Mars become fertile?
Using data from the world-famous Mars rover, NASA has created an analogue of Martian soil for certain studies. A group of scientists led by Dutch ecologist V. Wamelink partially purchased the soil described above. The researchers placed seeds of various plants into the resulting samples. The list of subjects included regular tomatoes, lettuce, mustard and much more.
The samples were then doused with a demineralized liquid similar to what can be obtained from Martian lava tubes. The results of the experiment amazed the scientists: most of the plants sprouted perfectly, although they were a little late. After this, the plants in the simulated Martian soil felt great and produced crops and even seeds. Therefore, we can say that the plot of the film “The Martian” is quite possible to repeat in real life.
It should be said that in addition to Martian soil, the research team used imitation lunar soil. So, plants grew much better and faster in Martian soil than in lunar soil.
Another striking fact is that soil of terrestrial origin took second place. Thus, the Martian “earth” even bypassed our native one. The researchers noted that in real life, some fertilizers would have to be added to the Martian soil, but it could still be considered suitable for growing terrestrial crops.
During the experiment, plants were grown, although in different soils, but under the same “earthly” conditions. The temperature in the room with the seedlings was standard for our planet during harvest seasons - approximately +20 degrees. The atmosphere was also earthly. The organizer of the experiment assumes that to grow vegetation on Mars, isolated rooms are needed in which similar conditions will be created, which is quite realistic in modern times. Plants on Mars will have to be illuminated with special lamps, similar to those used by indoor plant lovers in winter.
Is it possible to spread vegetation on Mars beyond special greenhouse rooms?
Recently, researcher I. Musk jokingly proposed lighting two pulsating artificially created “suns” above the poles of the “red planet,” which could become thermonuclear bombs produced on Earth. They would melt the frozen carbon dioxide that plants need. Unfortunately, it is not yet possible to implement such an idea. The fact is that in the polar territories of Mars today there are at least 20 thousand cubic kilometers of dry ice. To melt it, it is necessary to bring huge thermonuclear bombs to the planet, which is impossible.
The most powerful thermonuclear bomb that man has ever created was Kuzka's Mother. Even if it explodes, it can melt only a quarter of a cubic km. the above gas.
To deliver a sufficient number of bombs like the one above to the “red planet”, you will need a super-lifting apparatus. The same Musk is now creating a similar device for Nasov’s Mars Colonial Transporter project.
But his apparatus will not be able to transport more than a hundred tons to the planet at a time. By the way, 100 tons is the approximate weight of just four Kuzkina Mother type missiles. In total, Musk’s spacecraft will have to make about 10 thousand flights to deliver the required number of bombs to the “red planet,” and this is impractical, time-consuming and expensive. Therefore, it is almost impossible to create conditions on Mars suitable for the spread of vegetation in the near future.
Anaerobic bacteria may become future inhabitants of Mars
In the summer of 2015, microbiology specialist Rebecca Mikol performed an interesting experiment: she took anaerobic bacteria and placed them in artificially created Martian conditions (placed them in an apparatus with a pressure of 0.006 of our Earth pressure). It turned out that all microorganisms calmly tolerated such conditions and did not even lose their ability to produce methane. One of the types of bacteria that Rebecca used was “Methanosarcina barkeri,” which had previously proven that it is not afraid of various destructive factors: temperature fluctuations, high perchlorate content, toxic microelements that bacteria feed on, and so on.
"Methanosarcina barkeri" and other similar bacteria are capable of producing not only methane, but also carbon dioxide. In addition, it should be noted that these gases are greenhouse gases, which means they can increase the temperature on the planet. Unfortunately, most of these bacteria require hydrogen, which is extremely scarce on the “red planet,” so it will not be possible to eliminate all Martian problems with their help.
By the way, several areas have recently been discovered on Mars where there is a suspiciously large amount of carbon dioxide and even methane. Scientists believe that there are already bacteria of extraterrestrial origin similar to Methanosarcina barkeri.
Mars is suitable for agriculture
An aerospace agency from Germany made a sensational discovery in 2012-2013. His employees found that a certain type of lichen, called “xanthoria,” thrives in the low-latitude (+25 to -50 degrees Celsius) conditions of the “red planet.” The above-mentioned lichen was placed in artificially created Martian conditions for a month, after which it was removed and studied. It turned out that he not only survived in such an unfavorable environment, but also continued to perform photosynthesis, and at a temperature no higher than 0 Celsius. Thus, plants like “xanthorium” could exist on the “red planet” right now if they were sent there.
To test the above, NASA plans to implement the Mars Ecopoiesis Test Bed project in the near future: sending a small container with a transparent lid containing extremophilic algae and cyanobacteria to Mars.
After the device with the container reaches Mars, it will need to install the container in such a way that Martian soil gets into it. It is necessary to install the container in areas where salty Martian liquid periodically flows. The bottom of the container will allow liquid water inside, which will be used by the above organisms.
In the future, if this experiment is successful, NASA specialists plan to create large similar containers and deliver them to Mars. Perhaps oxygen will someday form inside them, which colonizing astronauts will then be able to use.
Sending people to Mars is not an easy task in itself, but establishing a colony on Mars will be much more difficult. Life outside of Earth's biosphere will require either food supplies from our home planet, or we will have to grow food locally, and since the first option is completely impractical and extremely costly in the long term, we will have to resort to farming on the Red Planet.
If you watched the movie “The Martian,” then you remember how the main character grew potatoes in a greenhouse using Martian soil, frozen feces of the expedition team, and water obtained during a chemical reaction.
“The reality is much more complicated,” says Ralf Fritzsche, senior project manager for the food production project at the Space Center. Kennedy (NASA).
NASA plans to send astronauts to Mars by 2030, and SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, is proposing an aggressive program to colonize Mars, the basis of which should be the Interplanetary Transport System (ITS). But even if SpaceX succeeds in sending people to Mars, they don't yet have any plan for how they will grow food there.
To support even one person on Mars will require at least $1 billion a year - just for food. Obviously, a different approach is needed here.
“Elon Musk offered a challenge to the world,” said Daniel Batcheldor, professor of physics and space sciences at Florida Institute of Technology and director of the Buzz Aldrin Space Institute. “We know that we cannot maintain a colony on Mars on supplies from Earth alone. The colony must become self-sufficient to survive on the Red Planet."
Fritzsche and his NASA colleague Trent Smith teamed up with scientists from the Buzz Aldrin Space Center to figure out how to actually grow something on Mars. Biological waste from astronauts can be a good help in this matter, but in order to create an analogue of Earth's soil, we will need a lot more - from soil detoxification agents to artificial bacteria.
“Martian regolith has no organic matter,” says Brooke Wheeler of the Florida Tech College of Aeronautics. “In order to use the waste, whether it be excrement or food scraps for compost, you would need decomposers, organisms that mineralize organic matter (bacteria or fungi)—only in their presence, plants can consume the nutrients in the waste.”
Wheeler and her colleague Drew Palmer, an assistant professor of biological sciences at Florida Tech, are using soil that mimics Martian soil in hopes that they can figure out a way to grow food on Mars. The equivalent of Martian soil used is volcanic sand from Hawaii, which lacks essential nutrients for plants.
Simulating Martian regolith is a good start, but Wheeler and Palmer recognize that the simulation is incomplete. One of the main problems that future colonizers will have to face is the toxicity of Martian soil. The Martian regolith is filled to the brim with perchlorate salts, toxic to humans, which are used in production on Earth and can cause serious thyroid diseases. Before we turn Mars into farmland, we'll need a way to rid the Martian soil of perchlorate.
“We are extremely interested in creating artificial microorganisms that can cleanse the soil of toxic substances,” says Palmer. “This is quite possible here on Earth.”
The researchers also propose sending a robotic mission to Mars months before the first human sets foot on the planet's surface. Robots will be able to prepare Martian regolith for use, ridding it of toxic substances, and will begin to plant plants. The idea is that once astronauts arrive on Mars, they will be provided with a working farm that will not only provide them with food, but also help maintain life support systems, providing additional oxygen and regulating air toxicity.
In addition to the practical task, the farm on Mars will also serve the function of maintaining the psychological health of the expedition participants. Trent Smith, who led Project Veggy on the International Space Station, which uses hydroponics to supply plants with nutrients in microgravity, saw the joy that astronauts on the ISS enjoyed growing plants in an otherwise lifeless environment.
“Because they're on a space station, in what you might call a hostile environment, with all these cables and wires, with just metal and plastic around... when they have these little leaves and roots growing that they take care of - for them it’s like a little piece of home, a little piece of nature,” Smith notes. “It will mean a lot back there on Mars.”
“If we were planning an expedition for months, hydroponics alone would be enough - it's extremely effective,” says Smith. “But since we want the expedition to stay there for a long time, it makes sense to switch to farming. You can use either method.”
Regardless, we will have to use all our ingenuity as a species to learn how to farm again, only this time in the hostile environment of another planet.
"It's like we're going back to an early agrarian society where we learned how to farm the land," Batcheldor says. "However, instead of using our planet's fertile soil, we will literally have to create new soil on Mars."