Report by Aarya Sinha
For the first time ever, researchers from the University of Florida have successfully grown plants in the lunar soil. The lunar soil or regolith was brought back from the moon by NASA astronauts in Apollo 11, 12, and 17 missions between 1969 and 1972. These samples have been collected from different parts of the moon’s surface.
For the experiment, the team planted seeds of Arabidopsis thaliana .To grow Arabidopsis, scientists used samples collected from different Apollo missions, with only a gram of regolith selected for each plant. The team added water and then seeds to the samples. A nutrient solution was added daily.
Arabidopsis thaliana is a relative of mustard greens. It is the most studied plant in the world due to its small size and ease of growth. It is native to Eurasia and Africa. For comparison, scientists also grew the same plant in soil made of volcanic ash found on earth. These plants grown in non-lunar soils were the experiment’s control group plants.
Nearly all the seeds planted in lunar regolith sprouted, but after some time they showed difference in terms of slower growth and stunted roots as compared to those grown in control groups. Later genetic analysis revealed that the plants were under stress (condition when plants react when the soil is salty or have heavy metals). Plants grew differently even among the Apollo samples collected from different areas of the moon.
Despite this, the experiment is significant for NASA’s future space station goals and is the first step in figuring out how plants can be grown in future.
Image credit: nasa.gov
