Azolla as a component of the space diet during habitation on Mars

摘要

We evaluate a candidate diet and specify its space agricultural requirements for habitation on Mars. Rice, soybean, sweet potato and a green-yellow vegetable have been selected as the basic vegetarian menu. The addition of silkworm pupa, loach, and Azolla to that basic menu was found to meet human nutritional requirements. Co-culture of rice, Azolla, and loach is proposed for developing bio-regenerative life support capability with high efficiency of the usage of habitation and agriculture area. Agriculture designed under the severe constraints of limited materials resources in space would make a positive contribution toward solving the food shortages and environmental problems facing humans on Earth, and may provide an effective sustainable solution for our civilization.