Eight plant candidates have shown some promise in Earth-based experiments with Martian regolith simulants: reflexed stonecrop, tomato, wheat, cress, field mustard, alfalfa, turnip and radish. None has been shown to grow on Mars. The results point toward a future of protected, engineered cultivation—not planting seeds in untreated Martian soil.
What “could thrive on Mars” means
The evidence behind these candidates comes from experiments on Earth using materials designed to simulate Martian regolith. Those studies tested plant growth in particular mixtures and conditions; they did not reproduce the full Martian environment or establish a way to farm on the planet.
In a 2014 experiment, researchers reported germination and growth over 50 days in Mars and Moon soil simulants without added nutrients. They cautioned that the simulants’ water-holding capacity and other physical characteristics, as well as how closely they represented real extraterrestrial soils, remained uncertain. Whether the results extend to full soils on Mars is still an open question. Read the study in PLOS ONE.
A separate 2022 study tested basaltic regolith and briny-water simulants. Its results included growth in soil amended with alfalfa, but the experiment did not test perchlorate in the simulant—a significant challenge for using Martian regolith. These studies are useful clues about candidate plants and cultivation strategies, not proof of Mars-ready crops. Read the 2022 study in Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences.
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Eight plants tested in Martian regolith simulants
The list brings together candidates from two different experiments. Their results should not be read as a single ranking: the studies used different simulants and treatments, and the available evidence does not establish how these species compare under common conditions.
| Plant | What the experiment found | Condition or qualification |
|---|---|---|
| Reflexed stonecrop (Sedum rupestre) | Identified among the better performers. | 2014 Mars-regolith-simulant experiment; Earth-based, 50-day study without added nutrients. |
| Tomato | One of the better-performing crops. | 2014 Mars-regolith-simulant experiment; Earth-based, 50-day study without added nutrients. |
| Wheat | One of the better-performing crops. | 2014 Mars-regolith-simulant experiment; Earth-based, 50-day study without added nutrients. |
| Cress | Among the better performers; flowered and produced seeds. | 2014 Mars-regolith-simulant experiment; Earth-based, 50-day study without added nutrients. |
| Field mustard | A green-manure species among the better performers; flowered and produced seeds. | 2014 Mars-regolith-simulant experiment; Earth-based, 50-day study without added nutrients. |
| Alfalfa | Grew in basaltic regolith simulant and was tested as a biological source of nutrients for soil amendment. | 2022 study; grew in bare basaltic simulant without nutrient supplementation. It was then used to amend simulant for other plant-growth tests. |
| Turnip | Growth improved in alfalfa-amended basaltic simulant. | 2022 study; amended simulant, not bare simulant. High salinity inhibited turnip seed germination in the study’s briny-water treatment. |
| Radish | Growth improved in alfalfa-amended basaltic simulant. | 2022 study; amended simulant, not bare simulant. Radish is included here rather than lettuce to represent an edible root crop; both were reported to improve in the amended material. |
The 2014 study specifically identified tomato, wheat, cress and field mustard as particularly good performers. That finding does not make them proven Mars crops: it describes their performance in that Earth-based experiment, not under Martian pressure, radiation, temperature or gravity.
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Why soil treatment and water matter
Alfalfa as a possible soil amendment
In the 2022 study, alfalfa grew in bare basaltic simulant without added nutrients. Researchers then used it as an amendment, and growth of turnip, radish and lettuce improved in the amended material. This suggests a possible role for a plant in helping prepare a growing medium, but the study does not establish a complete soil-treatment method for Mars.
The same study tested briny-water simulants. High salinity inhibited turnip seed germination in the relevant treatment; microbial treatment and rock filtration altered the experimental water. The results do not establish that those treatments would make Martian water safe or suitable for cultivation. The study did not add perchlorate to its simulant, and identifies perchlorate as a major obstacle to using Martian regolith.
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Growing medium is only one part of the system
A crop’s prospects depend on more than the soil material. Water availability and quality, nutrients, soil structure, light, temperature and protection from radiation all matter. NASA’s research goals include reducing perchlorate and studying nutrients generated through microbial weathering, as well as sustained germination and growth in treated regolith simulant. These are research objectives, not a completed remedy. NASA’s EFRI ELiS project description outlines that work.
Why Martian plants would need a protected growing system
NASA describes deep-space crop cultivation as an engineered system requiring suitable pressure and temperature, adequate light and nutrients, water treatment and radiation protection. Hydroponics in a protected environment is one approach discussed; it is not evidence that a functioning Mars farm already exists. Rob Mueller, senior technologist for Advanced Projects Development in NASA Kennedy’s Exploration Research and Technology Program, put the challenge plainly: “Growing plants on Mars is not a trivial matter.” NASA’s overview of deep-space food crops discusses these constraints.
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Mars receives about 43 percent of the sunlight Earth receives, according to NASA’s feature, which attributes the estimate to a 2007 mapping of surface light intensity over two Martian years. NASA also notes that many low-latitude areas may receive adequate light for plant growth, while dust storms can block sunlight. That estimate is environmental context, not a measurement of how any plant in these experiments would perform on Mars.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the studies do—and do not—show
- They show: several species germinated or grew in specific Earth-based regolith simulant experiments, with some flowering, producing seeds or responding to an amendment.
- They do not show: that any candidate can survive direct exposure to Martian conditions, grow in untreated Martian soil, or provide a reliable food supply there.
- They leave unresolved: performance under Mars-like pressure, radiation, temperature and gravity, along with the effects of real regolith properties and perchlorate.
- The practical implication: future cultivation proposals depend on a protected growing environment and a managed supply of water, nutrients and suitable growing medium, not on plant choice alone.
NASA has also described a proof-of-concept proposal to transfer stress-resistance traits from extremophiles into plants. The concept’s proposed plants would probably need a greenhouse; the cited work included a gene introduced into tobacco cells, not a demonstrated Mars-ready plant. NASA characterizes the effort as long-term research with an uncertain path. Read NASA’s description of the designer-plants concept.
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