Gypsophytes and the use of Martian Gypsum: A review of their potential for agriculture on Mars
Gypsophytes are plants that thrive on gypsum soils on Earth. They possess some adaptive traits that could constitute pre-adaptations to the conditions for potential cultivation in a controlled habitat on Mars. Martian agriculture should utilize substrates obtained directly from the planet itself. Ho...
| Autores: | , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Formato: | reseña artículo |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2025 |
| País: | España |
| Recursos: | Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA) |
| Repositorio: | DIGITAL.INTA Repositorio Digital del Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:digital.inta.es:20.500.12666/1655 |
| Acesso em linha: | https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214552425001087 https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12666/1655 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palavra-chave: | Gypsophytes Mars preadaptation Gypsum Martian agriculture Plant ecology Olympia undae Mars polar caps |
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Gypsophytes and the use of Martian Gypsum: A review of their potential for agriculture on Marsde Luis, MiguelLópez-Pujol, JordiMota, Juan FranciscoMerlo, EncarnaÁlvarez-Jiménez, JulioAparicio Sánchez, Jose IgnacioBartolomé, CarmenOrmö, JensParro, Laura M.GypsophytesMars preadaptationGypsumMartian agriculturePlant ecologyOlympia undaeMars polar capsGypsophytes are plants that thrive on gypsum soils on Earth. They possess some adaptive traits that could constitute pre-adaptations to the conditions for potential cultivation in a controlled habitat on Mars. Martian agriculture should utilize substrates obtained directly from the planet itself. However, the detection of perchlorates in the soil of Mars raises doubts about this possibility. These molecules are distributed globally and in concentrations toxic to both humans and plants. The polar winds may preserve some Martian gypsum outcrops from the effects of perchlorates. If so, using this Martian gypsum as a growing substrate for gypsophytes may be a viable option. In the medium term, implementing gypsophyte adaptations on staple crops would also be possible using CRISPR-Cas9 and/or other gene-editing technologies. According to the literature reviewed, Gypsophila struthium subsp. struthium shows a high degree of colonization capacity and high resistance to drought. This taxon serves as an ecological facilitator for other species, and its germination appears to be favored by the presence of gypsum. Several experimental results suggest it would be worthwhile to test the cultivation of this and other plants on reliable simulants or Martian gypsum through sample return missions or on a mission that would perform the cultivation on Mars itself.J.O. was supported by grant PID2021-125883NB-C22 by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation/State Agency of Research MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by ‘ERDF A way of making Europe’. L.M.P. contribution was supported by the Margarita Salas postdoctoral grant funded by the Spanish Ministry of Universities - NextGenerationEU and the CIAPOS/2022/066 postdoctoral grant (European Social Fund). Research and Transfer Plan of the University of Almería, funded by “Consejería de Universidad, Investigación e Innovación de la Junta de Andalucía” within the program 54A “Scientific Research and Innovation” and by ERDF Andalusia 2021-2027 Program, within the Specific Objective RSO1.1 "Developing and improving research and innovation capabilities and assimilating advanced technologies.”Abstract Keywords 1. Challenges regarding the development of agriculture on Mars 2. Towards a possible alternative 3. Findings from previous studies 4. Future perspectives CRediT authorship contribution statement Declaration of competing interest Acknowledgments ReferencesPeerreviewElsevier BVMinisterio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN)Junta de Andalucía202620262025info:eu-repo/semantics/reviewhttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcinfo:eu-repo/semantics/articleapplication/pdfhttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214552425001087https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12666/1655reponame:DIGITAL.INTA Repositorio Digital del Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacialinstname:Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA)InglésIMPACTOS COSMICOS EN CUERPOS PLANETARIOS: EFECTOS DEL PROYECTIL Y OBJETIVO EN LA MORFOLOGIA DEL CRATER COMO INSTRUMENTOS PARA EVALUAR PALEO-AMBIENTES Y RIESGOS CATASTROFICOSAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internationalhttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:digital.inta.es:20.500.12666/16552026-06-23T12:46:37Z |
| dc.title.none.fl_str_mv |
Gypsophytes and the use of Martian Gypsum: A review of their potential for agriculture on Mars |
| title |
Gypsophytes and the use of Martian Gypsum: A review of their potential for agriculture on Mars |
| spellingShingle |
Gypsophytes and the use of Martian Gypsum: A review of their potential for agriculture on Mars de Luis, Miguel Gypsophytes Mars preadaptation Gypsum Martian agriculture Plant ecology Olympia undae Mars polar caps |
| title_short |
Gypsophytes and the use of Martian Gypsum: A review of their potential for agriculture on Mars |
| title_full |
Gypsophytes and the use of Martian Gypsum: A review of their potential for agriculture on Mars |
| title_fullStr |
Gypsophytes and the use of Martian Gypsum: A review of their potential for agriculture on Mars |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Gypsophytes and the use of Martian Gypsum: A review of their potential for agriculture on Mars |
| title_sort |
Gypsophytes and the use of Martian Gypsum: A review of their potential for agriculture on Mars |
| dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv |
de Luis, Miguel López-Pujol, Jordi Mota, Juan Francisco Merlo, Encarna Álvarez-Jiménez, Julio Aparicio Sánchez, Jose Ignacio Bartolomé, Carmen Ormö, Jens Parro, Laura M. |
| author |
de Luis, Miguel |
| author_facet |
de Luis, Miguel López-Pujol, Jordi Mota, Juan Francisco Merlo, Encarna Álvarez-Jiménez, Julio Aparicio Sánchez, Jose Ignacio Bartolomé, Carmen Ormö, Jens Parro, Laura M. |
| author_role |
author |
| author2 |
López-Pujol, Jordi Mota, Juan Francisco Merlo, Encarna Álvarez-Jiménez, Julio Aparicio Sánchez, Jose Ignacio Bartolomé, Carmen Ormö, Jens Parro, Laura M. |
| author2_role |
author author author author author author author author |
| dc.contributor.none.fl_str_mv |
Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN) Junta de Andalucía |
| dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv |
Gypsophytes Mars preadaptation Gypsum Martian agriculture Plant ecology Olympia undae Mars polar caps |
| topic |
Gypsophytes Mars preadaptation Gypsum Martian agriculture Plant ecology Olympia undae Mars polar caps |
| description |
Gypsophytes are plants that thrive on gypsum soils on Earth. They possess some adaptive traits that could constitute pre-adaptations to the conditions for potential cultivation in a controlled habitat on Mars. Martian agriculture should utilize substrates obtained directly from the planet itself. However, the detection of perchlorates in the soil of Mars raises doubts about this possibility. These molecules are distributed globally and in concentrations toxic to both humans and plants. The polar winds may preserve some Martian gypsum outcrops from the effects of perchlorates. If so, using this Martian gypsum as a growing substrate for gypsophytes may be a viable option. In the medium term, implementing gypsophyte adaptations on staple crops would also be possible using CRISPR-Cas9 and/or other gene-editing technologies. According to the literature reviewed, Gypsophila struthium subsp. struthium shows a high degree of colonization capacity and high resistance to drought. This taxon serves as an ecological facilitator for other species, and its germination appears to be favored by the presence of gypsum. Several experimental results suggest it would be worthwhile to test the cultivation of this and other plants on reliable simulants or Martian gypsum through sample return missions or on a mission that would perform the cultivation on Mars itself. |
| publishDate |
2025 |
| dc.date.none.fl_str_mv |
2025 2026 2026 |
| dc.type.none.fl_str_mv |
info:eu-repo/semantics/review http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bc |
| dc.type.openaire.fl_str_mv |
info:eu-repo/semantics/article |
| format |
review |
| dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv |
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214552425001087 https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12666/1655 |
| url |
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214552425001087 https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12666/1655 |
| dc.language.none.fl_str_mv |
Inglés |
| language_invalid_str_mv |
Inglés |
| dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv |
IMPACTOS COSMICOS EN CUERPOS PLANETARIOS: EFECTOS DEL PROYECTIL Y OBJETIVO EN LA MORFOLOGIA DEL CRATER COMO INSTRUMENTOS PARA EVALUAR PALEO-AMBIENTES Y RIESGOS CATASTROFICOS |
| dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv |
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
| rights_invalid_str_mv |
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ |
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openAccess |
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application/pdf |
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Elsevier BV |
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Elsevier BV |
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reponame:DIGITAL.INTA Repositorio Digital del Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial instname:Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA) |
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Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA) |
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DIGITAL.INTA Repositorio Digital del Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial |
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DIGITAL.INTA Repositorio Digital del Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial |
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