In the 2015 film “The Martian,” Matt Damon’s character is a scientist left behind on Mars. He has limited food supplies and not much water. He tries to figure out how to survive so he can be rescued. Luckily, he knows how to grow things. And one of the things he grows is a potato plant. A year later, scientists in Peru and NASA scientists in California started working together on growing potatoes in a harsh location similar to Mars. They built a container where they could simulate the conditions on Mars. The salty soil came from the southern coast of Peru, where there is very little rain. Inside the “Mars-in-a-box,” the scientists made the air pressure similar to what it is like at 6,000-meters, decreased the temperature below zero, and added carbon monoxide to the air. They made a lighting system that followed Mars’ daytime and nighttime. They planted 65 types of potato plants, and waited. After a while, four of them grew. Later, the scientists took the strongest of the four plants and tried again. This time, they used crushed rocks instead of soil. The plant still grew.
Title: Potatoes Could Be Grown on Mars
Content: <div id='article-page'><div id='article-content' data-media-url='//news-app-staging.s3.amazonaws.com' data-base-url='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1778/mars_potatoes.m4a' data-capture-url='//staging.analytics.lingraphica.com/events/capture_news' data-article-title='Potatoes Could Be Grown on Mars' data-article-id='2295'><script src='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/javascripts/getscripts.js'></script><link rel='stylesheet' href='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/stylesheets/article.css' type='text/css' /><div class='article'><p><span data-start-time='0' data-end-time='10500'>In the 2015 film “The Martian,” Matt Damon’s character is a scientist left behind on Mars.</span> <span data-start-time='10500' data-end-time='16771'>He has limited food supplies and not much water.</span> <span data-start-time='16771' data-end-time='23146'>He tries to figure out how to survive so he can be rescued.</span> <span data-start-time='23146' data-end-time='27583'>Luckily, he knows how to grow things.</span> <span data-start-time='27583' data-end-time='32333'>And one of the things he grows is a potato plant.</span> <span data-start-time='32333' data-end-time='49729'>A year later, scientists in Peru and NASA scientists in California started working together on growing potatoes in a harsh location similar to Mars.</span> <span data-start-time='49729' data-end-time='56167'>They built a container where they could simulate the conditions on Mars.</span> <span data-start-time='56167' data-end-time='64917'>The salty soil came from the southern coast of Peru, where there is very little rain.</span> <span data-start-time='64917' data-end-time='85708'>Inside the “Mars-in-a-box,” the scientists made the air pressure similar to what it is like at 6,000-meters, decreased the temperature below zero, and added carbon monoxide to the air.</span> <span data-start-time='85708' data-end-time='93417'>They made a lighting system that followed Mars’ daytime and nighttime.</span> <span data-start-time='93417' data-end-time='101021'>They planted 65 types of potato plants, and waited.</span> <span data-start-time='101021' data-end-time='105604'>After a while, four of them grew.</span> <span data-start-time='105604' data-end-time='113229'>Later, the scientists took the strongest of the four plants and tried again.</span> <span data-start-time='113229' data-end-time='119750'>This time, they used crushed rocks instead of soil.</span> <span data-start-time='119750' data-end-time='123479'>The plant still grew.</span> </p></div><div class='control-buttons-sticky' style='display:none;'><div class='control-buttons'><button title='Back' class='back' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Play' class='play' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Pause' class='pause' style='display:none;'></button><button title='Forward' class='forward' disabled='disabled'></button><button class='finished-reading' style='display:none;'>Done</button></div></div></div><div id='article-media'><div id='media-image'><img src='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1778/mars_potatoes.jpg'/></div></div><div id='question-content' style='display:none;'><div class='vocabulary_question question-container' data-question-id=8390 data-hint-location='32333' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1778/what_does_harsh_mean.m4a'>What does harsh mean?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='unpleasantly rough'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1778/limited_supplies.m4a'><span>limited supplies</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1778/high_altitude.m4a'><span>high altitude</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1778/unpleasantly_rough.m4a'><span>unpleasantly rough</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1778/low_temperatures.m4a'><span>low temperatures</span></div></div></div><div class='multiple_choice_question question-container' data-question-id=8391 data-hint-location='32333' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1778/what_did_scientists_try_to_grow.m4a'>What did scientists try to grow?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='potatoes'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1778/potatoes.m4a'><span>potatoes</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1778/harsh_conditions.m4a'><span>harsh conditions</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1778/crushed_rocks.m4a'><span>crushed rocks</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1778/movie_stars.m4a'><span>movie stars</span></div></div></div><div class='sentence_completion_question question-container' data-question-id=8392 data-hint-location='23146' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1778/luckily_he_knows_how_to__blank_.m4a'>Luckily, he knows how to <span class='blank'>grow things</span>.</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='grow things'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1778/grow_things.m4a'><span>grow things</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1778/eat_potatoes.m4a'><span>eat potatoes</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1778/crush_rocks.m4a'><span>crush rocks</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1778/survive.m4a'><span>survive</span></div></div></div><div class='question-buttons'><button class='skip-button'></button><button class='hint-button'></button><button class='speak-button'></button></div></div></div>
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