--- title: Mars: Scientists Think Potatoes Can Grow on Red Planet description: Scientists in a preliminary study think they've discovered evidence that potatoes would be able to grow on Mars — like in 'The Martian' canonical: https://time.com/4697264/potatoes-grow-on-mars-the-martian/ author: Abigail Abrams article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-03-09T20:13:23.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:49:11.987Z article:section: Science og:title: Scientists Think Potatoes May Be Able to Grow on Mars og:description: Just like in 'The Martian' og:url: https://time.com/4697264/potatoes-grow-on-mars-the-martian/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt88532452f45b76c8/6988bdc9e20a870d05a9468c/mars-planet-growing-plants-space-potatoes.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5099 og:image:height: 2868 og:image:alt: This oblique view of the lower mound in Gale crater shows layers of rock that preserve a record of environments on Mars. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Scientists Think Potatoes May Be Able to Grow on Mars twitter:description: Just like in 'The Martian' twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt88532452f45b76c8/6988bdc9e20a870d05a9468c/mars-planet-growing-plants-space-potatoes.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Scientists Think Potatoes May Be Able to Grow on Mars > Sponsored content. 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It reaches 40,000 subscribers with a 34.2% open rate and a 2.1% click rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Here's When It's Worth to Buy Organic MONEY [Watch (HLS stream): Here's When It's Worth to Buy Organic MONEY](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/MVvCNCUk.m3u8) (1:31)  _Published 2017-02-27. Prioritizing which items on your grocery list should be bought organic can help you save money and make healthier choices._ by [Abigail Abrams](https://time.com/author/abigail-abrams/) ## Abigail Abrams Mar 9, 2017 8:13 PM UTC  This oblique view of the lower mound in Gale crater shows layers of rock that preserve a record of environments on Mars. This oblique view of the lower mound in Gale crater shows layers of rock that preserve a record of environments on Mars. Universal History Archive—UIG/Getty Images by [Abigail Abrams](https://time.com/author/abigail-abrams/) ## Abigail Abrams Mar 9, 2017 8:13 PM UTC When Matt Damon’s fictional astronaut grew potatoes to keep himself alive on Mars in [_The Martian_](http://time.com/4055413/martian-movie-review-science-accuracy-matt-damon/), you may have been skeptical. But now real scientists have evidence that his plan wasn’t so impossible. Last year, scientists from the [International Potato Center](http://potatoes.space/mars/live-video.html) set out to discover whether potatoes can grow under Mars’ atmospheric conditions, hoping to prove the tubers can flourish under extreme climates on Earth. Working with NASA, they planted potatoes in soil from the Pampas de La Joya desert in Southern Peru, the organization [said in a statement.](http://cipotato.org/press-room/blog/indicators-show-potatoes-can-grow-mars/) This dry, salty environment contains “the most Mars-like soils found on Earth,” NASA scientist Chris McKay said in the statement. When researchers placed the potatoes in a hermetically sealed CubeSat built by engineers from the University of Engineering and Technology (UTEC) in Lima, the plants started to grow. The CubeSat delivers nutrient-rich water, and controls the temperature, air pressure, oxygen and carbon dioxide levels to mimic Mars. There’s even a live stream of the experiment can be viewed below. “If the crops can tolerate the extreme conditions that we are exposing them to in our CubeSat, they have a good chance to grow on Mars,” said Julio Valdivia-Silva of UTEC. This is just an initial experiment, and potatoes on the Red Planet would need to be kept in a greenhouse with carefully regulated temperature, water and air quality, just like in the CubeSat. After all, when the side blew off the greenhouse Damon’s Mark Watney built in _The Martian_, his potato plants were in bad shape. In the meantime, the scientists are hopeful their discovery could lead to breeding potatoes that could stand up to coming climate changes and help address food insecurity here on Earth. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4697264/potatoes-grow-on-mars-the-martian/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4697264/potatoes-grow-on-mars-the-martian/"},"headline":"Scientists Think Potatoes May Be Able to Grow on Mars","datePublished":"2017-03-09T20:13:23.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:49:11.987Z","description":"Just like in The Martian","url":"https://time.com/4697264/potatoes-grow-on-mars-the-martian/","keywords":["Mars","Space","NASA","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt88532452f45b76c8/6988bdc9e20a870d05a9468c/mars-planet-growing-plants-space-potatoes.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Abigail Abrams","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/abigail-abrams/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt88532452f45b76c8/6988bdc9e20a870d05a9468c/mars-planet-growing-plants-space-potatoes.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"This oblique view of the lower mound in Gale crater shows layers of rock that preserve a record of environments on Mars.","caption":"This oblique view of the lower mound in Gale crater shows layers of rock that preserve a record of environments on Mars.","creditText":"Universal History Archive—UIG/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/mars/","name":"Mars"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4697264/potatoes-grow-on-mars-the-martian/","name":"Scientists Think Potatoes May Be Able to Grow on Mars"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Here's When It's Worth to Buy Organic MONEY","description":"Prioritizing which items on your grocery list should be bought organic can help you save money and make healthier choices.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/MVvCNCUk/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-02-27T16:28:18.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/MVvCNCUk.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4697264/potatoes-grow-on-mars-the-martian/","duration":"PT1M31S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4697264/potatoes-grow-on-mars-the-martian/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```