Unrelenting radiation, along with electrostatic discharge from planet-wide dust storms, drove chemical reactions in the arid Martian dirt, ultimately leaving it rich in pesky toxic salts called perchlorates. If ever a blade of grass grew on Mars, those days are over.

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What would it take to grow plants to feed future astronauts on Mars?

The ultimate goal of the agency’s Artemis program is to land astronauts on Mars. [F]or the last decade, the agency has pursued a long-term plan of establishing an “Earth-independent” human presence on the Red Planet.

Any notion of an independent Mars means the perchlorate problem must be solved because humans have to eat. Resupply missions are, by definition, Earth-dependent, and hydroponics are inadequate for feeding people in large numbers.

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To grow food there, we can’t just drop seeds in the ground and add water. We will need to create a layer of soil that can support life. And to do that, we first have to get rid of those toxic salts.

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