The news from the Phoenix Mars Landing just keeps getting more amazing. First came the discovery that the red planet may once have featured lakes and rainfall.
Now it appears that Martian soil appears capable of supporting life.
“We basically have found what appears to be the requirements, the nutrients, to support life whether past present or future,” Sam Kounaves, the lead investigator for the wet chemistry laboratory on Phoenix, told journalists.
“It is the type of soil you would probably have in your back yard, you know, alkaline. You might be able to grow asparagus in it really well. … It is very exciting for us.”
I wouldn’t be in the least bit surprised to learn one day that the first colonist on Mars will probably be those pot-growers about to be put out of business in Mendocino County.
Friday, June 27th, 2008, 10:54 am | 
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June 27, 2008 at 10:58 am
Ohh .. asparagus .. yummy! Don’t think it would do much good for the Martian atmosphere though
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June 27, 2008 at 12:02 pm
I think pot would do better than asparagus. At least it might survive the trip to market in better shape!
Donna B.s last blog post..2nd Amendment Really Is About An Individual Right
June 27, 2008 at 1:36 pm
I’ve had the song “Rocket Man” stuck in my head ever since posting this entry.
June 27, 2008 at 1:41 pm
If they could grow Earth asparagus that didn’t I’d be happy, too!
June 27, 2008 at 1:07 pm
If they could grow Martian asparagus that didn’t make your pee smell funny, I’d be all over that.
Margis last blog post..Back to work *whipcrack*
June 28, 2008 at 6:23 am
There are also all of the materials necessary to build a 747 on Mars. Course a simple cell is about 10^500 (that’s one followed by 500 zeros) more complex than a 747.
June 28, 2008 at 11:50 am
But the real question is: can we drill for oil there???
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June 28, 2008 at 2:14 pm
heh.
I wonder how tough it would be for them to get a few dozen pounds of plain old mars dirt back here to fuddle around with like that. These things are pretty much all one-way trips though.
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