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Fertiliser made from urine could enable space agriculture: study Researchers in Japan have electrochemically created ammonia from urine to grow plants in space.
Freeze dried survival food? Cultivated meat? What foods offer the potential to support mankind in its quest to colonize Mars and spread human life beyond Earth? A new study boldly claims that urine holds to the key to ensuring food sufficiency and self-sustenance to enable isolated colonies to survive even in the event of a catastrophic failure in provisioning.
Researchers from Tokyo University of Science aimed to address the problem of food production in closed environments, such as those in a space station. Realising that farmers have used animal waste as fertilizer for thousands of years, as a rich source of nitrogen, they investigated the possibility of manufacturing it from urea (the main component of urine), to make a liquid fertiliser.
Could urine be the key to producing food in space?
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Scientists from Tokyo think urine could be used as a fertiliser to help grow plants in space.
There is a reason humans tend to inhabit areas of the globe with more favourable agricultural conditions. Growing our own food was once absolutely essential to sustaining life on this planet, hence why regions with the best soil and climate are the most densely populated. But as space travel develops and the red plains of Mars get closer to reality, growing food on the barren planet could be an issue. Luckily, scientists in Japan have found the answer: urine.
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IMAGE: Manuring with man urine: researchers from Japan electrochemically create ammonia from urine to grow plants in space view more
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In extreme environments, even the most ordinary tasks can seem like unsurmountable challenges. Because of such difficulties, humanity has, for the most part, settled on grounds that were favorable for harvesting crops, herding cattle, and building shelters. But as we seek to expand the limits of human exploration, both on earth and in space, the people pioneering this search will undoubtedly face conditions that, for all intents and purposes, are not conducive to human habitation.
One of the foremost challenges facing any intended long-term settlement, be it in the Antarctic or on Mars (perhaps in the near future), is achieving some degree of autonomy, to enable isolated colonies to survive even in the event of a catastrophic failure in provisioning. And the key to achieving this autonomy is ensuring food sufficie
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