The herb is the secret to growing vegetables on Mars

In The Martian, Matt Damon's astronaut survived on potatoes grown on Mars with one unpleasant ingredient - the waste from his fellow crew members. The Alfalfa herb contains growth hormones that stimulate the growth of plant roots, so real-life Martian astronauts may be able to grow their own food.

The project was made possible with the help of 19-year-old Indian-origin researcher Pooja Kasiviswanathan. In 2015, she began her research on developing a food system for Mars at the age of 15 years old.

The University of Iowa's Astrobiology residency program was also attended by Pooja Kasiviswanathan, currently in her third year of studying microbiology at Iowa State University.The research at Iowa State University was backed by Dr Vijayapalani Paramasivan, another Indian-origin scientist.

The part of the research explored how turnips grow in simulated Martian soil derived from volcanoes known as basaltic regolith soil because Martian soil is mainly composed of volcanic rock basalt, is deficient in nutrients, and is difficult to hold water.

In comparison to regular garden soil, which contains more nutrients and essential properties, the simulated Martian soil had fewer nutrients.

In the simulated Martian soil, turnip seeds germinated 7% more easily than those in garden soil when watered with fresh water. The turnip, however, was far more unhealthy than the garden soil.

In other words, astronauts would have to use some kind of magic fertilizer on the red planet. The use of Alfalfa as a biofertilizer on Earth is already widespread, according to Pooja Kasiviswanathan. In Martian soil, researchers grew radishes, turnips, and lettuce along with alfalfa, watering them with fresh water.

The growth of plants was exponential with Alfalfa, In comparison to garden soil, turnips increased by 190%, lettuce leaves increased by 79%, and radishes increased by 311%.