In this April's "In Depth" we talked about the Martian mission Hypatia I and how marine research can contribute to make life on the red planet possible.
The Hypatia I mission began on April 16. It has made a group of 9 Catalan women scientists live for 15 days with daily water limitations and feeding on dehydrated food at the Mars Research Desert Station (MDRS), located in the desert of Utah (United States). One of the main objectives of the mission was to promote research projects in order to test equipment and experiments to study the feasibility of a real mission to the red planet.
That is why the mission commanders contacted our colleague Laia Ribas, with more than 20 years of experience in the field of sustainable aquaculture. During the last few years, the researcher has focused on exploring fish farming on Mars, since, according to her, "Martian aquaculture could provide animal protein to a future human settlement on the red planet and, at the same time, it would help to generate more sustainable farming practices on Earth, where from 2050 the amount of fish available will be insufficient to supply the world’s population demand".
"Considering fish farming in an environment as hostile as Mars could guide us to do it better on our planet," states Ribas, who confesses that she embarked on Hypatia I precisely to advance in this line of research. Specifically, her project was born three years ago, when she was invited to participate in the design of a Martian city (Nüwa) for a Mars Society competition.
The researcher proposed raising fish to feed the inhabitants of the Martian settlement. Fish and poultry would make up 4% of their diet, while 70% of the food would be vegetarian, mainly microalgae, and the rest would be insects and artificial cell cultures. The main impediment to his proposal was that the water for the fish farms would have to be fetched from the poles of Mars, or else extracted from underground, and would be limited, as it is on Earth.
Another thing to take into account when raising fish on Mars is the gravity, which on Mars is approximately 30% of that on Earth. For this reason, the researcher designed an experiment that she has now been able to carry out on the Hypatia I mission to study the marks that the alteration of gravity generates in the DNA of zebrafish (Danio rerio), a model organism that is used in scientific research around the world.
"Previous studies have shown that factors such as water temperature can alter the fish genome, although the effects of gravity changes are still unknown. "That's why any information we get from the experiment will be fascinating," explains Ribas, who adds that the aim is to be able to apply the results in the field of aquaculture and even medicine.
The results of this research will come later, although the experience of Laia and her colleagues in the Martian station will serve to advance in very innovative research areas and make visible women scientists in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics) disciplines to inspire vocations, especially among girls and young women. Ultimately, the experience aims to contribute to a more inclusive and diverse science, where women have the recognition they deserve.