Gene Editing Rice for Other Worlds

Wil we be living on mars

Gene Editing Rice

Modified rice plants could better handle Martian soil

Antony Ratcliffe in New Scientist

Gene-edited rice plants may be able to grow on Mars. Researchers have now identified a gene that, when modified, seems to give rice plants a better chance of surviving in harsh Martian soil.

Martian soil, or regolith, has fewer nutrients than Earth soil and contains compounds that can be toxic to some plants. To see how well rice can handle such conditions, Abhilash Ramachandran at the University of Arkansas and his colleagues grew rice seeds in a series of mixtures of regular …   '   

Mars Has Year Round Energy

Surprising?

Mars has enough wind to power bases near the poles all year round

An analysis of the wind energy available on Mars finds that one well-placed turbine could enable a group of six people to live near the poles all year round

Newscientist, SPACE 19 December 2022    By Christa Lesté-Lasserre

Dark dunes surrounding Mars's northern polar cap  ... 

NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU

Wind turbines on Mars could theoretically provide enough energy for scientists to safely explore outer regions of the planet during crewed missions.

Solar energy might be sufficient for investigating Mars near the equator, but to live nearer the poles all year round, other power sources are needed. In combination with solar power, well-placed wind turbines could supply enough energy for a group of six people to live and work on Mars all year round, without the radiation risks associated with nuclear energy, says Victoria Hartwick at the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California.

“It’s really exciting that by combining potential wind power with other sources of energy, we open up large parts of the planet to exploration and to these really scientifically interesting zones that the [scientific] community may have previously discredited because of energy requirements,” she says.  ... '