Challenging the agricultural viability of martian regolith simulants
Abstract
Abstract As human space exploration extends farther from Earth, the cost and risk of resupplying a mission increases substantially. In situ resource utilization (ISRU) is the prospecting, extraction, storage, and exploitation of existing resources at the crew location, reducing cost and risk. Crucial to the development of ISRU solutions is the accurate characterization and modeling of regolith for a variety of applications, including as a substrate for food production at lunar or Martian sites. Previous studies have established the capacity of specific regolith simulants to support the growth of a variety of plants in the short term. However, the mineralogical and physical accuracy of these simulants as proxies for the sites on Mars is debatable, and any conclusion drawn from studies with these simulants must be considered with some degree of caution. For the purpose of studying ISRU food production, we present a systematic effort to evaluate the utility of three different Martian Regolith Simulants (MRSs): JSC-Mars-1A, Mars Mojave simulant (MMS), and Mars Global simulant (MGS-1). Our findings confirmed that none of these simulants are capable of supporting plant growth in the absence of nutrient supplementation. However, with the addition of a nutrient supplement, both JSC-Mars-1A and MMS were able to support the growth of both Arabidopsis thaliana and Lactuca sativa. However, the highly alkaline (pH > 9.0) MGS-1 simulant was unable to support growth even with additional nutrients. Acidification of MGS-1 nearly doubled the longevity of plants grown in this medium, suggesting this simulant may be further modified to eventually support plant growth as well. The addition of calcium perchlorate to each simulant, at concentrations intended to mimic those observed on the surface of Mars, rendered each simulant incapable of supporting plant growth, regardless of nutrient supplementation. These findings underscore that ISRU food solutions are likely at a lower technological readiness level than previously thought. We discuss these findings in the context of future efforts to develop off-world agricultural systems, approaches to developing future MRSs, and the immediate need to address perchlorate contamination as well as nitrogen deficiency for regolith-based food production.
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Martian regolith simulants JSC-Mars-1A and MMS support plant growth with nutritional supplements.
“Martian regolith simulants, such as the Johnson Space Center (JSC-Mars-1A) simulant and Mojave Mars Simulant (MMS), have been shown to support plant growth with nutritional supplements”
From Perchlorate and Agriculture on Mars (2021) · cites this paper as [19]
In a recent agricultural study, Martian regolith simulant and high concentrations of perchlorate (2 wt.%) were both determined to be detrimental to plant growth.
“In a recent agricultural study [19], Martian regolith simulant and high concentrations of perchlorate (2 wt.%) were both determined to be detrimental to plant growth.”
From Perchlorate and Agriculture on Mars (2021) · cites this paper as [19]
Addition of Ca-perchlorate (2% w/v) or Ca-perchlorate tetrahydrate (2% w/v) did not support plant growth even with nutritional supplements.
“even with nutritional supplements, the addition of Ca-perchlorate (Ca(ClO 4 ) 2 ) (2% w/v) or Ca-perchlorate tetrahydrate (Ca(ClO 4 ) 2 •4H 2 O) (2% w/v) did not support plant growth [19].”
From Perchlorate and Agriculture on Mars (2021) · cites this paper as [19]
Mars Global Simulant (MGS-1) did not germinate even with added nutrients.
“while Mars Global Simulant (MGS-1) was shown to not germinate even with added nutrients”
From Perchlorate and Agriculture on Mars (2021) · cites this paper as [19]
Perchlorate concentrations in the range observed on the Martian surface can impair seed germination and plant growth.
“As this and other studies have shown [19,21], perchlorate concentrations in the range observed on the Martian surface can impair seed germination and plant growth.”
From Perchlorate and Agriculture on Mars (2021) · cites this paper as [19]
Regolith lacks a natural biome and is deficient in essential macronutrients such as nitrogen and micronutrients including copper, zinc, and boron.
“Unlike terrestrial soil, it lacks a natural biome and is deficient in essential macronutrients such as nitrogen, as well as key micronutrients including copper, zinc, and boron (Eichler et al., 2021;Duri et al., 2022).”
From Spirulina supported plant growth in regolith simulants and elevated levels of CO2 (2025) · cites this paper as Eichler et al., 2021
Plant growth in lunar and Martian regolith simulants is possible when nutrient supplementation is provided, particularly for simulants with lower pH levels.
“Their findings show that growth is possible when nutrient supplementation is provided, particularly for simulants with lower pH levels (Eichler et al., 2021;Chinnannan et al., 2023).”
From Spirulina supported plant growth in regolith simulants and elevated levels of CO2 (2025) · cites this paper as Eichler et al., 2021
Perchlorates in Martian regolith inhibit plant growth even with nutritional supplementation.
“The presence of perchlorates in Martian regolith is an additional challenge as it has been shown to inhibit plant growth even with nutritional supplementation (Eichler et al., 2021).”
From Spirulina supported plant growth in regolith simulants and elevated levels of CO2 (2025) · cites this paper as Eichler et al., 2021
The accuracy with which manufactured simulants mimic actual lunar and Martian regolith has been called into question.
“The accuracy with which manufactured simulants mimic actual lunar and Martian regolith has been called into question (Eichler et al., 2021).”
From Spirulina supported plant growth in regolith simulants and elevated levels of CO2 (2025) · cites this paper as Eichler et al., 2021
With the addition of nutrients, both lettuce and Arabidopsis grew on JSC-Mars-1A and MMS, but did not grow on MGS-1.
“However, with the addition of nutrients, both plant species grew on JSC-Mars-1A and MMS, but did not grow on MGS-1.”
From The Potential for Lunar and Martian Regolith Simulants to Sustain Plant Growth: A Multidisciplinary Overview (2022) · cites this paper as Eichler et al., 2021
The Martian surface has been found to have a high salt concentration and high levels of perchlorates.
“For instance, the Martian surface has been found to have a high salt concentration (Ramírez et al., 2019) and high levels of perchlorates (Eichler et al., 2021).”
From The Potential for Lunar and Martian Regolith Simulants to Sustain Plant Growth: A Multidisciplinary Overview (2022) · cites this paper as Eichler et al., 2021
None of the three pure Martian regolith simulants tested by Eichler et al. (2021) could support plant growth in the absence of nutrient supplementation.
“None of these simulants could support plant growth in the absence of nutrient supplementation.”
From The Potential for Lunar and Martian Regolith Simulants to Sustain Plant Growth: A Multidisciplinary Overview (2022) · cites this paper as Eichler et al., 2021
Calcium perchlorate-enriched simulants were unable to sustain plant growth, even with nutrient supply.
“Calcium perchlorate-enriched simulants were unable to sustain plant growth, even with nutrient supply.”
From The Potential for Lunar and Martian Regolith Simulants to Sustain Plant Growth: A Multidisciplinary Overview (2022) · cites this paper as Eichler et al., 2021
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- Authors
- Eichler, A., Hadland, N., Pickett, D., Masaitis, D., Handy, D., Perez, A., Batcheldor, D., Wheeler, B., & Palmer, A.
- Affiliations
- Florida Institute of Technology (US)
- Corresponding author
- Palmer, A.
- Venue
- Icarus
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2021-01
- Volume
- 354
- Pages
- 114022
- ISSN
- 0019-1035 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W3048089177
- Semantic Scholar
- ba4f9dbaa896fc33be7adb00bf914764b037ec30
- Cited by
- 89
- References
- 44
- Citations by year
- 2026: 18 · 2025: 21 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 11
- FWCI
- 3.79
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Icarus (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Florida Institute of Technology
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Planetary Science and Exploration
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Aerospace Engineering › Space Exploration and Technology
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Plant Growth and Agriculture Techniques
- Keywords
- Martian regolith simulant, in-situ resource utilization, nutrient supplementation, perchlorate toxicity, calcium perchlorate, soil acidification, Arabidopsis thaliana, lettuce, nitrogen deficiency, perchlorate contamination
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