The Plight of the Martian Farmer

(mceglowski.substack.com)

23 points | by zdw an hour ago ago

4 comments

  • t-3 3 minutes ago

    Shame about the paywall.

    > Stowaway Australian cockroaches covered the floors at night and destroyed everything they could get their mandibles on, including much of the salad crop and both of the kitchen’s microwave ovens (they ate the wiring). The broad mite, a pest that normally afflicts tea plants, broadened its horizons in this special setting and killed the entire potato crop. In the Ocean, the biospherians engaged in a battle of wits with stowaway octopi who had been accidentally introduced into the habitat and whose voracity was only eclipsed by their cunning. After the first few weeks they were never seen, but their depredations continued.

    Sounds like they should have added insect farming to supplement their food supply. Most cockroaches are edible when cooked. Yeast or maybe some engineered creatures to produce whatever is needed might be interesting for a modern attempt.

  • shermantanktop an hour ago

    Warning: paywallus interruptus.

    Kicks in just after it starts to get interesting.

    • mikestew an hour ago

      Works on my machine, latest macOS/Safari behind a Pi-hole if that makes any difference.

      • vlian2088 an hour ago

        you didn't scroll far enough