Asking Questions in Biology

CONTENTS OF CURRICULUM UNIT 26.06.09

  1. Unit Guide
  1. Reasoning
  2. The Martian Farm: Bridging The Gap From Regolith To Soil
  3. Laying The Groundwork
  4. Know Your "dirt"
  5. Water Management
  6. The Soil Contaminants
  7. The Wonderful World Of Soil Microbes
  8. Meet The Pioneer Species
  9. The Arthropod Architect
  10. Thinking Like An Ecosystem
  11. The Big Picture
  12. Lab 1: Analyzing The Martian Fingerprint (geochemical Baseline)
  13. Lab 2: The Desalination Challenge Thru Inoculation Effect (microbial Management)
  14. Lab 3: Meet The Pioneers (building Organic Plant Matter)
  15. Lab 4: The Arthropod Architect (managing Community Dynamics / Don't Drown The Bugs)
  16. Notes
  17. Bibliography And Resource Guide
  18. Relevant Oklahoma Academic Standards For Science (oas-s) And Middle School Engineering Standards:

The Martian Farm: Building Soil from Regolith

Donavan Spotz

Published September 2026

Tools for this Unit:

Bibliography And Resource Guide

“Collection and in Situ Analyses of Regolith Samples by the Mars 2020 Rover: Implications for Their Formation and Alteration History.” 2025. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023JE008046.

Handelsman, Jo, and Kayla Cohen. 2021. A World Without Soil: The Past, Present, and Precarious Future of the Earth Beneath Our Feet.

Hausrath, E. M., R. Sullivan, Y. Goreva, M. P. Zorzano, A. Vaughan, A. Cousin, S. Siljeström, et al. 2025. “Collection and in Situ Analyses of Regolith Samples by the Mars 2020 Rover: Implications for Their Formation and Alteration History.” Journal of Geophysical Research Planets 130 (2). https://doi.org/10.1029/2023je008046.

Hedges, James, Karen Adolph, Dima Amso, Daphne Bavelier, Julie Fiez, Leah Krubitzer, Devin McAuley, Nora Newcombe, Susan Fitzpatrick, and Jamshid Ghajar. 2013. “Play, attention, and learning: How do play and timing shape the development of attention and influence classroom learning?” The New York Academy of Sciences. June 13, 2013. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://nyaspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nyas.12154.

International Space Exploration Coordination Group. 2013. “Benefits Stemming From Space Exploration.” International Space Exploration Coordination Group. https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/benefits-stemming-from-space-exploration-2013-tagged.pdf?emrc=ca90d1.

Kasiviswanathan, Pooja, Elizabeth D. Swanner, Larry J. Halverson, and Paramasivan Vijayapalani. 2022. “Farming on Mars: Treatment of Basaltic Regolith Soil and Briny Water Simulants Sustains Plant Growth.” PLoS ONE 17 (8): e0272209. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0272209.

Kliman, D. M., J. B. Cooper, R. C. Anderson, Dos Pueblos High School, Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Dept., University of California, Santa Barbara, and Jet Propulsion Laboratory. 1993. “MARTIAN SOIL PLANT GROWTH EXPERIMENT: THE EFFECTS OF ADDING NITROGEN, BACTERIA, AND FUNGI TO ENHANCE PLANT GROWTH.” Journal-article. https://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2000/pdf/1871.pdf.

MSc, Laurence Tognetti. 2026. “Mars Plant Growth From Cyanobacteria-Based Fertilizer.” Universe Today. March 26, 2026. https://www.universetoday.com/articles/mars-plant-growth-from-cyanobacteria-based-fertilizer.

NASA. 2025. “Moon to Mars Architecture Concept Review.”

Ramalho, Tiago P., Jess M. Bunchek, Daniel Schubert, Sven Kerzenmacher, Cyprien Verseux, Guillaume Pillot, Center for Environmental Research and Sustainable Technology (UFT), University of Bremen, Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity (ZARM), University of Bremen, and German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Space Systems, Department of System Analysis Space Segment, Bremen. 2026. “Sustainable Mars Agriculture: Fertilizer Production From Cyanobacterial Biomass via Anaerobic Digestion.” Journal-article. Chemical Engineering Journal. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2026.174922.

Rog, Lori Jamison, and Donna-Lynn Galloway. 2017. Reading, Writing, Playing, Learning: Finding the sweet spots in kindergarten literacy. Pembroke Publishers Limited.

Shaghaghi, Azam, and Konstantinos Antonakopoulos. 2012. “The Societal Impacts of a Mars Mission in the Future of Space Exploration.” Physics Procedia 38 (January): 176–85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phpro.2012.08.021.

Space Agencies. n.d. “The Global Exploration Strategy: The Framework for Coordination.” The Global Exploration Strategy the Framework for Coordination.

Sposito, Garrison, 1939–. 2008. The Chemistry of Soils. Second Edition. Oxford University Press, Inc. https://www.oup.com.

Weir, Andy. 2014. The Martian: A Novel. Ballantine Books.

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