The effort is not only a big step towards the goal of one day constructing a controlled farming dome on Mars, but will also demonstrate the potential of growing potatoes in inhospitable environments back home – something that the researchers hope will help tackle world hunger.

If mankind is ever to establish a colony on Mars, it'll first have to work out how to create a sustainable food source. We've seen proposals in the past that aim to test whether crops will grow on the Red Planet, but a lot more work needs to be done before a viable solution emerges.

To prepare for the inevitably tricky endeavour, Peru-based research and development organization CIP is planning on conducting a dry run back home. The team will use soil from the Pampas de La Joya Desert in Peru, which is almost identical to that found on Mars. The researchers will grow the crop in a laboratory environment that mimics the atmospheric conditions of the Red Planet, where the atmosphere is close to 95 percent carbon dioxide.