For the first time growing plants in the soil brought back from the Moon
A huge step forward with mankind’s knowledge of agriculture The universe Scientists have just announced: For the first time, plants can be grown in lunar soil brought back by astronauts during the Apollo mission.
Scientists grow plants in the soil Moon collected during the Apollo missions. This is the first time that plants have sprouted and grown on Earth in soil from another celestial body.
This research could lay the groundwork for the development of plants that provide oxygen and food on the Moon as NASA’s Artemis program seeks to land the first woman and first man of color. south pole of the Moon by the end of this decade.
The detailed study of the plant experiment was published May 12 in the journal Communications Biology.
“Plants help verify that soil samples brought back from the Moon do not contain pathogens or other unidentified ingredients that could be harmful to terrestrial life, but those plants are covered with lunar soil but never actually grown in it,” said Lisa Paul, a research professor of horticultural science at the Institute of Agricultural and Food Sciences at the University of Florida, USA.
Professor Paul and study co-author Rob Ferl, professor of horticultural science at the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, wanted to take it a step further and see if the seeds would grow in lunar soil.
This experiment was proposed 15 years ago, and the last Moon sample request was approved 18 months ago. The team asked NASA to provide 4 grams of samples from the Moon during the Apollo 17 mission.
Ryan Zeigler, Apollo model curator of NASA, saw scientific value in providing more specimens from the various Apollo missions. He sent the team a total of 12 grams (2.7 teaspoons) from Moon samples obtained from the Apollo 11, 12, and 17 missions.
The researchers inserted 1 gram of lunar soil into each grow tube, added nutrients and water, and then added a few seeds of Arabidopsis thaliana, a cruciferous plant native to Eurasia and Africa. .
Seeds were also planted into the soil from Earth as a control group. As a result, after 2 days, all seeds in the 2 groups germinated and developed similarly. By day 6 of the experiment, differences began to appear, with plants in the Moon sample growing more slowly and with stunted roots.
After 20 days, the scientists harvested all the plants and conducted DNA studies. The analysis showed that plants grown on lunar soil responded similarly to those grown in harsh environments such as soils with too much salt or heavy metals.
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