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Question
Are the light levels on Mars sufficient to make it practical to build greenhouses for growing food and oxygenating plants?
The levels of sunlight on Mars are about half of what we have on Earth (which is the main reason that Mars is much colder than Earth). It is considerably brighter on a typical day on Mars than under a cloudy sky on Earth, however, and many plants thrive under cloudy conditions. A greenhouse would provide higher temperatures, and it can also contain the greater amount of gas that would be required for terrestrial plants to grow there. Some terrestrial plants might be able to survive the conditions within a pressurized greenhouse on Mars, but most would probably also require additional heating to keep the temperature above freezing.
David Morrison
NAI Senior Scientist
September 24, 2003
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