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Could potatoes grow in Martian soil?
In The Martian, potatoes are successfully harvested after 48 sols (a Martian solar day – 24 hours 39 minutes long), but the success of the venture does not last: Watney’s potato-growing is put to an abrupt end as the front of his habitat blows off, exposing his entire crop to the Martian air.
Why did Mark Watney not really need to use waste as the fertilizer?
Human waste has human pathogens in it. Crops grown from soil fertilized that way would have those pathogens on or inside of them. But Watney also uses the crew’s leftover waste from the station’s toilet, which could mean that he could have contracted his crew members’ pathogens as well.
How many potatoes did Mark Watney have left?
Astronaut and botanist Mark Watney (played by Matt Damon in the film) finds himself stranded on Mars fighting to survive without much more than his brain. One of the keys to Watney’s survival is twelve fresh potatoes sent with the astronauts to Mars for a Thanksgiving meal during their trip.
What do the potatoes symbolize in the Martian?
The potatoes were intended by NASA’s psychologists to foster a sense of fellowship among the astronauts, and this nod to the importance of humanity and community turns out to sustain Watney in a much more physical sense. In this way, the potatoes symbolize the tenacity of life, even in the face of overwhelming odds.
Why can potatoes grow on Mars?
Conditions on Mars are not hospitable to biological life. The planet’s soils are salty, thin, and lacking in chemicals like nitrogen, which helps plants grow. Its atmosphere contains little oxygen—also important to plant growth—and its average temperature hovers at a frigid -80 degrees Fahrenheit.
Can you grow potatoes in human poop?
Yes, and not just potatoes, says Bruce Bugbee, a real-life botanist and NASA scientist. In “The Martian,” Watney grows his own food by planting potato eyes in the ground. He fertilizes the plants with human waste and creates liquid water out of rocket fuel.
Can you grow potatoes in poop?
Potatoes can grow in ‘extreme’ Mars-like conditions, a new NASA-backed experiment shows. Mark Watney, played by Matt Damon, survives by fertilizing Martian soil with his feces, slicing potatoes, and planting the cuttings in the soil. This eventually grows him enough food to last hundreds of days.
Why does the crew of the Ares Bring potatoes to Mars?
The reason he had access to Potatoes in space was because the Ares III crew would have been on Mars during Thanksgiving and NASA psychologists thought it would be good for them if they could have food other then the freeze dried nasty-ish space food, so NASA sent them to space with some potatoes which thankfully still …
What is a potato a symbol of?
Symbolic meaning In general, potatoes are a symbol of prosperity, warmth, and the hearth. In a modern interpretation, this product symbolizes primarily fast food. The most popular dishes made from this vegetable are french fries and chips.
How did Matt Damon grow potatoes on Mars?
Can you grow potatoes on Mars in the Martian?
Matt Damon sure pulled it off in the 2015 movie “The Martian.” After accidentally being stranded and with dwindling supplies, Damon’s character, a botanist, figures out how to grow potatoes on Mars. Kreuze thinks potatoes have “the right stuff” to grow on the inhospitable Martian surface.
Why did mark not eat the potatoes in the Hab?
When Airlock 1 breached, causing a gaping hole in The Hab, the potatoes were freeze dried and the bacteria in the soil assumed dead. Because of this Mark was unable to grow any more potatoes and could only eat the ones he still had with him.
Why can’t Mark grow any more potatoes?
Because of this Mark was unable to grow any more potatoes and could only eat the ones he still had with him. He later discovered that the bacteria hadn’t died, but instead gone into hibernation the way bacteria does on earth when it’s cold.
Why didn’t he start over with the dead potatoes?
Because he lacked the resources to start over. All the plants/potatoes were dead from lack of oxygen and sub freezing temperature. The bacteria in the poop soil as well. And his source of fuel that he could turn into water.