Spuds on Mars: Potatoes Can Sprout in Red Planet Environment, Study Suggests

Potatoes may be able to feed real-life Red Planet explorers, just as they sustained fictional astronaut Mark Watney in the book and movie "The Martian," an ongoing experiment suggests. On Feb. 14, 2016, researchers at the International Potato Center in Peru (known as CIP, its Spanish acronym) planted a potato tuber in a cubesat-size container that mimics Martian temperatures and atmospheric conditions. CIP scientists characterized these preliminary results as "positive" and said they plan to perform more experiments.