If 654.38+100,000 people immigrate to Mars, how to solve the problem of eating?

One day in the future, humans will land on Mars and colonize the red planet. Suppose 6.5438+100,000 people immigrate to Mars, how to solve their food problem? According to a new study, the answer may be cricket farms, crops grown in tunnels and artificial meat cultivated in laboratories. Cricket is one of the most valuable edible insects, and cricket powder is used in many foods. Scientists point out that eating insects is really disgusting, but if the Martian colonists can overcome psychological barriers, raising insects is undoubtedly a wise choice.

Space Exploration Technology Company plans to build a city with a capacity of 654.38 million people on Mars.

NASA plans to make a round trip to Mars, but only make a short stop on the red planet. In contrast, commercial space companies are more ambitious, and their goal is to colonize outer space, including Mars, rather than just staying for a short time. Take space exploration technology company as an example. The company plans to establish a colony on Mars.

If you want to stay on Mars for a long time, the most practical strategy is to make full use of the existing resources of Mars instead of relying on transporting supplies from the earth. Scientists point out that Mars settlements need five kinds of resources, including energy, water, oxygen, building materials and food. The first four resources are abundant on Mars.

Man will one day land on Mars and colonize the red planet.

The solar energy supplemented by nuclear fission reactors can meet the energy needs of Martian residents. Water ice and water-bearing minerals on Mars are available water resources. Carbon dioxide can be converted into oxygen. Mars soil can burn bricks, and then use bricks to build various facilities. However, there is no natural food on Mars, and it is difficult to produce food from any raw materials on Mars. "Food is probably the most difficult thing to produce on Mars," said university of central florida planetary scientist Keith Scott Cannon, the lead author of the research paper. If self-sufficient settlements are to be established, food cannot be completely dependent on' imports'. "

Art concept map, nuclear fission power generation system standing on Mars

Scott Cannon pointed out: "Scientists have conducted a series of studies on food production for manned missions to the moon or fire fighting in the future. After combing these studies, we find that most of them focus on low-calorie vegetables, without considering the latest innovation in the field of replacing protein sources. If a city of 1 10,000 people is established on Mars according to the idea of Space Exploration Technology Company, how can we solve their food problem? "

The researchers pointed out that it is impossible to raise livestock to get meat and milk on Mars in the short term, because transporting livestock to Mars faces great challenges. Paradoxically, most Martian immigrants don't want to be vegetarians. How to solve this problem? The answer given by the researchers is: artificial meat cultivated in insect farms and laboratories.

The prototype of the lunar greenhouse with a length of 5.5 meters and a diameter of 2.2 meters is located in the controllable environmental agriculture center of the University of Arizona.

Researchers say that it is a good choice to build an insect farm on Mars, because insects raised on unit land can provide a lot of heat and consume less water and feed. Cricket is one of the most valuable edible insects, and cricket powder is used in many foods. Scott Cannon said, "Eating bugs is really disgusting. If people can overcome psychological barriers, bugs are undoubtedly a wise choice. "

The researchers pointed out that for those who are unwilling to colonize Mars with insects, they can choose "cell agriculture", that is, to cultivate cells in Petri dishes in the laboratory. This way can provide more familiar food for Martian colonists. Cell agriculture can produce algae, meat, fish, milk and eggs. Investors have invested a lot of money to develop this technology. In just two years, the cost of an artificial meat burger has dropped from $325,000 to 1 1 USD.

Future astronauts may build greenhouses on Mars and grow fruits and vegetables in greenhouses by hydroponics.

Greenhouse often appears in the artistic concept map of Mars settlements, but researchers say it may be impractical to build a greenhouse on Mars. Mars is far from the sun, and even in the equatorial region with the most sunshine, the amount of light that plants can receive is only equivalent to Alaska. Although the greenhouse uses transparent windows, it still absorbs 50% to 70% of the sunlight on the earth, especially on Mars. In addition, the Mars greenhouse needs stronger materials to support the heated and pressurized interior. The temperature of the Martian atmosphere is much lower than that of the earth, and it is very thin, which is also not conducive to greenhouses.

Compared with greenhouses, tunnels with high-intensity LED lighting may be a more ideal choice. Mars colonists can grow all kinds of crops in tunnels. They can guide sunlight into the tunnel with the help of optical cables. Soilless culture techniques such as hydroponics or aerosol culture are feasible on Mars, but these practices need to transport a lot of materials and equipment to Mars, including trays, pumps and water tanks. Undoubtedly, agricultural production based on soil has greater advantages, which can make crops effectively resist diseases. However, scientists need to do a lot of research on inorganic Martian soil and turn it into organic soil to support crop growth.

Concept map of Mars base art

Previous studies have shown that many crops can be planted on Mars, such as wheat, corn, soybeans, peanuts and sweet potatoes. These crops can solve the problem of feeding the colonists on Mars. Mars colonists can plant genetically modified crops to reap the benefits of this technology, such as absorbing more carbon dioxide and bringing higher yields.

Scott Cannon said: "Up to now, almost all the research has focused on crop cultivation to solve the problem of feeding astronauts, but crop cultivation will take up a lot of space, and it is necessary to build a huge indoor factory, and at the same time pressurize, heat and light the factory. If you want to feed a large population on another planet, you must give up the idea of growing water-bearing vegetables. You must realize that getting enough heat in this way requires a lot of energy, water and raw materials. "

Art concept map, astronauts landed on Mars.

In order to answer the question, "What would happen if a Martian city with a population of one million was supported?" In this problem, the researchers simulated the migration from Mars, and the birth rate was 10/ 1 0,000 per earth year. The developed countries on earth usually have this birth rate. According to their hypothesis, 6,900 passenger ships are needed to send 1 10,000 immigrants to Mars, and the whole process lasts for a century. During this period, about 340,000 people were born on Mars.

Scientists calculate how many calories each person needs, and at the same time model the land needed according to the colonists' diet structure (based on wheat, corn, sweet potatoes, crickets and artificial chickens cultivated in the laboratory). The results show that a Martian colony with a population of one million can achieve food self-sufficiency within 100 years. In order to do this, the colony needed to build tunnels with a length of 9,000 miles (about14,500 kilometers) and a width of 12 feet (about 3.6 meters), which could be stacked vertically.

Art concept map, space exploration technology company's colonial spacecraft stands on Mars.

However, when they first arrived on Mars, the colonists still needed to transport a lot of food on the earth, with a total of nearly 54,000 goods. Scientists point out that many strategies can greatly reduce dependence on imported food, such as speeding up the construction of farms on Mars. How can we meet the food needs of Martian colonists to the maximum extent? Future research needs to focus on increasing crop yield; Find the most efficient and delicious insect population; Improve the taste and texture of artificial meat; Improve the efficiency of LED lighting facilities and promote agricultural growth; Develop automation technology and speed up the construction of pressure protection zones to adapt to farms.

Concept map of Mars habitat art

Scott Cannon pointed out: "There is no doubt that some people will criticize our research for its sci-fi flavor. The manned Mars exploration mission will have to wait for decades. Why discuss this topic now? People who hold this view need to take seriously what space exploration technology companies are doing now. Now, space exploration technology company is developing and testing the prototype of manned Mars spacecraft. The first Martian residents may go to the red planet in their spacecraft. Therefore, it is necessary for us to study how to solve the colonial Mars from now on. "

Scientists point out that this kind of research can not only solve the problem of feeding the Martian colonists, but also benefit the people on earth. Scott Cannon said: "Mars is a planet with a harsh environment-the temperature is extremely low and the air is thin-and the way colonists get food can only be more sustainable and moral than the factory farms on the earth. There is no doubt that switching to the' Martian diet structure' can protect our planet. "