# Aeroponic Technology for Accelerated Weathering of Extraterrestrial Regolith to Extract Plant Essential Nutrients and Generate Arable Soils

## TL;DR

This paper explores using aeroponic technology to extract nutrients from simulated Martian soil and improve its fertility for growing plants.

## Contribution

A novel aeroponic system is introduced to accelerate regolith weathering and enhance extraterrestrial soil fertility using plant biowastes.

## Key findings

- Aeroponic biowastes increased extractable nutrients like Fe, K, Mg, P, and S in Martian simulant.
- Amending regolith with plant residue significantly improved wheat growth compared to unmodified soil.
- The system released essential elements (Al, B, Ca, Fe, Mn, Na, S) and sorbed P and K from the nutrient solution.

## Abstract

Advancements in off-world
food and fiber production should seek
to utilize regolith as a source of nutrients and prepare it for use
as a solid plant growth substrate. Towards this goal, aeroponic biowaste
streams containing both inorganic nutrients and root system efflux
from plants provide an opportunity for accelerated weathering and
enhancement of extraterrestrial soils. To test this hypothesis, an
aeroponic system was built that contained Martian simulant (Mars Mojave
Simulant-2; MMS-2), inert sand, and a no-filter control to evaluate
the in-line filters for simultaneous mineral weathering and recycling
of biowastes from wheat. The growth performance of wheat in aeroponics
was highly productive across all treatments. After inundation with
biowastes from the aeroponic system growing wheat for 40 days, MMS-2
sorbed P and K and released Al, B, Ca, Fe, Mn, Na, and S into the
nutrient solution. Generated plant biowaste was mixed into MMS-2 and
sand treatments, which increased the extractable Fe, K, Mg, P, and
S in MMS-2. Substrate chemical properties were quantified (e.g., total
C and N, total and extractable elements, pH, EC, particle size, and
P species). Augmentation of MMS-2 with aeroponic biowastes followed
by amendment with plant residue greatly improved wheat growth compared
with the unmodified MMS-2, which resulted in plant death. This technology
expands lunar/Martian base agriculture by offering a means to acquire
nutrients from weathered regolith while simultaneously improving the
fertility of extraterrestrial soils.