Hey, Tom (Carroll) here! Thanks for watching - this was a big project but a lot of fun to make! I'm working on a heap of exciting videos in 2020 so feel free to check out the channel and consider joining the Aspect Science community!<br><br>MASSIVE thanks to Tom (Scott) for this opportunity! As a long-time fan, this is a huge honour!,(reply>), What about perchlorates?,(reply>), <b>4 WEEKS AGO</b>,(reply>), Did I miss something? What was the controlled environment?,(reply>)," what's the song at <a href=""https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBPLgtfouIs&amp;t=7m11s"">7:11</a>?",(reply>), Hi Tom (Carrol), I really enjoyed the video, and I got a few more pulled up to watch after this. I've thought often about how to live on Mars, which obviously includes growing plants. One thing that always seemed an easy, if not particularly quick, way to turn Martian regolith into actual soil, is to kill and bury plants.<br>From what I understand of Earth's biological history is that for a long time only really tough and simple plants could grow on land because the land was literally just broken up bits of rock, much like regolith. Because the plants were tough and woody, being composed mostly of cellulose, they did not readily break down into nutrients that later plants could use. So, for a long, long time only tough, inedible plants grew. <br>However, eventually, enough nutrients and biological chemicals were in the soil that other plants could develop. Leafier, tastier plants. <br>So then, it's now. And it's Mars. What if we found plants that grow best in Martian regolith (After removing the perchlorates) regardless of edibility? Something that just loves loose, rocky soil? Then, once mature, the plant is uprooted, diced, and buried into the regolith. Add in some microbes from earth to break that plant matter down into simpler components. Do this for a few iterations, and instead of just crushed up rocks making regolith, you have actual soil, with biological stuff in it.<br><br><br>Or to put it another way, you could extend this 'experiment' out by getting some orchids, planting them in the simulant, letting them grow until they bloom, then ripping them out and murdering them, so that their bodies can grow the next generation of orchids. Do this until you have rich, luxuriant, and nutritious soil with which you can grow edible crops.