Crops grown on “Mars” soil found safe to eatJune 24, 2016 - 10:45 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Dutch scientists said Thursday, June 24 crops of four vegetables and cereals grown on soil similar to that on Mars have been found safe to eat, amid plans for the first manned mission to the planet, AFP reports. Abundant harvests of radishes, peas, rye and tomatoes all grown on the soil were found to contain "no dangerous levels" of heavy metals, said the team from Wageningen University in the Netherlands. "These remarkable results are very promising," said senior ecologist Wieger Wamelink. "We can actually eat the radishes, peas, rye and tomatoes, and I am very curious what they will taste like." Future Mars settlers will have to take food supplies with them and then plant crops in order to survive, AFP says. So using soil developed by NASA to resemble that of the red planet, the university has been experimenting since 2013 and has managed to raise 10 crops. But uncertainty remains about whether they would absorb the high levels of heavy metals such cadmium, copper and lead, present in Mars soil. Further tests are now needed on the remaining six crops, including potatoes, in research which is being backed by a crowd-funding campaign, AFP says. NASA plans a manned trip to Mars within the next 10 to 15 years or so, and similar projects are also being pursued by U.S. billionaire Elon Musk and the Dutch company Mars One, tentatively aiming to set up human colonies on the Red Planet. Related links: Top stories Yerevan will host the 2024 edition of the World Congress On Information Technology (WCIT). Rustam Badasyan said due to the lack of such regulation, the state budget is deprived of VAT revenues. Krisp’s smart noise suppression tech silences ambient sounds and isolates your voice for calls. Gurgen Khachatryan claimed that the "illegalities have been taking place in 2020." Partner news Most popular in the section | Scholz hopes Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty will be signed this year German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hopes that a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be signed this year. Armenia, Russia discuss life extension of Metsamor nuclear plant Issues regarding the extension of life of the 2nd power unit of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant were discussed in Yerevan. Armenians stage more campaigns against territorial concessions to Azerbaijan Protesters blocked more roads across Armenia on Friday, April 26 in continuing attempts to scuttle territorial concessions to Azerbaijan. Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. |