Soil sampling plays a crucial role in both farming and planetary exploration, with space technology now being adapted for agricultural purposes. Many everyday inventions have roots in space travel, such as cameras used by astronauts and adapted for smartphones. Home air purifiers, cordless power tools, and food safety methods are also products of space technology. GPS receivers for self-guided tractors and advancements in water filtration, microchips, crash helmets, and spectacle lenses have all been influenced by space research breakthroughs.

Now, technology used on Rover robots on Mars is being leveraged to revolutionize soil testing in agriculture. These robots lasered rocks and soils on Mars, analyzing their composition through emitted light spectra. A California company called TerraBlaster is developing a version of this technology to determine the nutrient composition of soil, including nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.

Soil testing in agriculture currently involves manual sampling and laboratory analysis, with the risk of either under or over-fertilization leading to crop potential loss or pollution. With global fertiliser costs reaching up to €200bn annually, excess fertiliser is a costly mistake. TerraBlaster aims to address this issue by providing real-time analysis for optimal fertiliser application.

The agricultural application of this space-age technology may involve an ATV or tractor equipped with a sensor to measure soil nutrients linked to computers and GPS, creating a detailed soil map. Future developments could lead to a system that simultaneously analyzes soil and spreads fertiliser, adjusting the application volume based on real-time analysis.