Move over, Hollywood. We are Roberto Furfaro and Gene Giacomelli, the NASA-funded scientists who built the REAL "The Martian" food-growing system.

If someone were interested in following this sort of educational/career path, what sort of education would you suggest? This all is very interesting, are there any majors in controlled environmental agriculture or engineering that pertains to this sort of study?

i thought you'd never ask.....come to the University of Arizona. enroll in Biosystems Engineering or in Plant Sciences, depending on your specific interstes. we need you.

look for programs [at other schools, too...not many yet] that offer engineering of controlled environments, and horticulture of contolled environment plant produciton. these topics are becoming more common because of the great interest by the foodies and others concerned with locally grown foods and safe foods of high quality

Is anything from your work being made available for commercial sale, here on terrestrial Earth?

Thanks for doing this AMA! Truly looking forward to reading everyone's questions! (And your answers!)

Earth Applications are important! great question! yes, our work came from previous experiences for on Earth commerical food produciton systems in greenhouses; we plan to use the improvements and new knowledge to feedback to Earth-based food producers in GH's and in other indoor systems.

What grows best on Mars?

we normally say that in hydroponics and controlled environment all plants will grow and grow anywhere the system is placed...but there is the cost that limits each application

unsure...never been there. but we grow veggies in ours on Earth. in general all crops 'may' grow, or at least have the potential to grow, but we need to go and try.

unsure...never been there. but we grow veggies in ours on Earth. in general all crops 'may' grow, or at least have the potential to grow, but we need to go and try.

Have you seen The Martian? And if so, how accurate are the specific issues he faced and how they were addressed. Can you discuss specific obstacles that were not addressed or dealt with in the movie? If you haven't seen the movie, or just in general, what are some of the logistical obstacles involved with trying to grow food on Mars that someone not involved in this kind of research might not expect or think of? Thanks!

very importatn do not pee on your garden plants!! yes there are nutrients in the urine, but way too many salts...surely death for your plants.

saw the movie..it ws enjoyable science fiction with much basis on facts, but with the ability to stretch the science/engineering.... the potatoes would never have grown in the limited lighting conditons of the habitat; also the human waste would have been to 'unprocessed' to provide nutrients.

no, we dont use such, but do recycle plant biomass wastes; we have a composter to decompose the plant wastes; NASA-AMES [i believe] has created a simulate human waste for thier testing

What has been the most significant technical challenge in this experiment?

What are the limits on what can be learned from these greenhouses? What information will you be unable to learn until you are able to recreate these greenhouses on Mars?

about the 'limits' of learning....of course there is no 1/3 gravity in our Lab as is on Mars. plus the environment will have to be at reduced pressure to save on sturcture required where we are opretaing at 1 atm

Thank you for this answer and this AmA.

Would it be possible to recreate that gravity on Earth? If so, what prevents you from doing that?

Money! need to make a rotating device that can grow crops and be roated at a velocity of v = r [omega]squared, where r is the radius of the spinning device and omeag squared is the angular velocity

How does less gravity effect the growth of plants?

with reduced gravity, the irrigation process is more challenging; and the water absorbance by the plant and water movement in the plant are both reduced. at lower air pressures the gas exchange from the leaves is slowed. need a plant physiologist to better answer this....

What are the next steps after successfully growing food on Mars?

people need oxygen, water, food for survival and that requires energy and water.

Have plants been tested in space? What effects does the differing gravity from earth have on how they grow?

not on a planet as yet, but in the Space Station {ISS} in microgravity, which is much more challenging for growing plants than on a planet surface. think about how to get the water and nutrients to the root system.

What do you think was your greatest achievement so far?

besides some of the science/engineering, the interest that has been created by the Mars-Lunar GH filled with plants, glowing away, and growing up a storm, and the young poeple who gain interest in these systems both for Mars and for food produciton here on Earth

also, that the greenhouse system demonstrates the water cycle, the carbon cycle and the plant nutrients cycles while in the lab in a simple way to help student learning

Since Mars is so much further from the sun, would you need to keep plants under artificial light in order for them to grow? Or could they grow under natural light on Mars (like in an actual greenhouse, not just planted in Martian soil)?

yes and no.....Mars hs about 45% of EArths sunlihg intnesity. but it has dust storms that can reduce to 5%. thus i am quite sure artifical lights will be used. someday LEDs

I noticed in the movies potatoes were use, and y'all grow sweet potatoes, is there a connection here? What makes them a good choice?

we have grown potatoes before, but we were proposed sweet potatoes becasue of their carbohydrates, sugars and many foods thta can be made for them. See Tuskeegee Univ researches! also the sweet potatoes make a huge vine of leaves good giving their water into the air to make drinking water, and for making oxygen from CO2 from photosyntheisis.

Are the ingredients for growing food on other planets more or less expensive than bringing food grown on earth? Assuming it's cheaper to blast off with a lot of food on board, when does it become better to grow your own food.

our tests at the South Pole Food Growth Chamber in Antarctica provided veggies for about $50 per pound of edible veggie just for the costs of operation...mostly electrical power for lights, pumps, etc.

I am a graduate student studying plant pathology. What considerations, if any, have you made in regards to plant diseases which may arise?

good keep studying! plant diseases will always be around. in controlled environments like the GH we can minimize them by a cleaner and a less optimum envroinment for the fungi and bacteria. we practice IPM always [integrated pest managment]

In the movie, Watney's potatoes are exposed to the martian air. Would radiation be a concern when having to eat those potatoes later? Do you have similar concerns you deal with growing food on mars?

radiation could be a problem.....but it would take much time to see an effect. they would be unchanged when he ate them.

So, human waste, if eaten, makes you sick. How do you not get sick by growing food in your own waste? Also, does this in any way have an impact on flavor?

exactly, the human waste needs to be processed before it can be used on plants...both the solids and the urine. they need to be changed into forms that plants can use as fertilizer, but also to be sure that the bad microbes are destroyed

'night soil' is human waste that is used in outdoor agriculture in some countries, but that is mixed within the soil [the earth] before using, and there it is broken down. best that it should be composted in a pile to heat up and destroy the unwelcomed microorganisams.

What types of plants are prioritized for production in space and in controlled environments and for what reasons? Are some food sources prioritized because they produce more oxygen or have higher concentrations of nutrients?

Nasa has about 21 favorite crops based on a balanced diet. protein crops [soybeans, wheat] minerals/fiber crops [tomato, lettuce]. actually algae is a better oxygen producer than most food crops.

the lights in the Mars Greenhouse will be on shortly. go to the website link and you can see the crops.

Earth Applications are important! great question! yes, our work came from previous experiences for on Earth commerical food produciton systems in greenhouses; we plan to use the improvements and new knowledge to feedback to Earth-based food producers in GH's and in other indoor systems.

Are projects like this actually being actively funded? What sorts of groups have you gotten the most attention or funding from? Is there anything the public can do to help?

very few projects around the world are funded like this. China and the Europeans each have a larger more complete and complex BLSS [bioregenerative life support system].

people in space are expensive. robots have been doing verey well on other planetes. but we all know thta someday humans will go. we need to prepare.

Can you grow cannabis in space?

probably.....if you provide the environment [air temp, hunmidity, light, water, nutrients]...just like on Earth we believe all plants will grow.

What us the best way to determine the optimal nutrient content for a given plant or crop? Ditto with lighting? Are there calculations one can do (formula) or is it just lengthy research.?

The answer is "test, test, test" - we do not good first-principle models of such systems, i.e. we haven;t be able to apply basic physics law to derive comprehensive models. All the models that we have (including some basic formula) are derived from data. Experience is key

more graduate studnets to do experientation and study for future inforamtion is required

Any thoughts on GMO's? I assume modifying the plant for a greater yield or easier to grow in manufactured environment would be a pro.

no GMO's too expensive! most indoor crops are bred by tradtional means to grow well in indoors situaitons

but your thought to change the genetics is one approach, and would potetinally be beneficial. genetics and environments give the result

If you can grow an already made food, what would it be? Example: pizza, hot dog, burger, steak, granola bars.....

prabaly a pizza.....good nutrition. but fresh veggies are always desired when in such extreme conditons

I am looking at your webcam and it is dark, will the lights turn on soon?

sorry we should have turned the lights on for the Reddit

they remain on until 8am each morning.

With a need for hydroponics in industrial food production, would your applications be translatable to potential vertical farming? Mass production of food is going to have to happen sooner rather than later, and your growing system seems to be a solid foundation for that.

mass production of food already happens mostly in outdoor farming [see California, Florida, etc] but it is also expanding rapidly within greenhouses and a bit as Vertical Farming

I'm a thesis student in architecture and my topic is vertical agriculture, and I've seen the case studies in Irvine and Chicago that are successful but they only span 5 stories, could yours be engineered to be in 60 story skyscrapers in an urban condition? Thanks for the response!

eventually we could engineer it for that, but we would not do that. ours is not designed that way. it is designed to be light-weight, and fit in small spaces, and specific to your needs.

yes. whatever we do has the same needs as in all indoor production [greenhosues w/sunlight or multi-level w/o sunlight as in Vertical Farming]

Do you simulate human manure or is that one of the poetic licenses in the book? Haven't seen the movie yet.

no, we dont use such, but do recycle plant biomass wastes; we have a composter to decompose the plant wastes; NASA-AMES [i believe] has created a simulate human waste for thier testing

no, we dont use such, but do recycle plant biomass wastes; we have a composter to decompose the plant wastes; NASA-AMES [i believe] has created a simulate human waste for thier testing

Do you work with the Biosphere at all?

yes. we have a demonstration greenhouse there now. it is for tours and visitors

Why are you focusing on hydroponics over aeroponics?

easier, more dependable, simpler, less mainetenace....

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i do not know of this, and would have to avoid doing such.

unsure...never been there. but we grow veggies in ours on Earth. in general all crops 'may' grow, or at least have the potential to grow, but we need to go and try.