Moonshot Research: Scientists Grow Plants in Soil from the Moon

Placing a plant grown during the experiment in a vial for eventual genetic analysis.
Placing a plant grown during the experiment in a vial for eventual genetic analysis.
(Credits: UF/IFAS photo by Tyler Jones)

While the moon might not look like a fertile field, it is capable of producing plant life. That’s according to a recent study by University of Florida scientists who have successfully grown plants in soil collected from the moon.

NASA plant research
Rob Ferl, left, and Anna-Lisa Paul looking at the plates filled part with lunar soil and part with control soils, now under LED growing lights. At the time, the scientists did not know if the seeds would even germinate in lunar soil. Credits: UF/IFAS photo by Tyler Jones

In the study, researchers planted the seeds of Arabidopsis thaliana — a plant related to mustard greens, as well as other cruciferous vegetables such as brussels sprouts, broccoli and cauliflower — in lunar soil (also known as regolith), which was sampled directly from the moon from missions Apollo 11, 12 and 17.

The team added water and then seeds to the samples. They then put the trays into terrarium boxes in a clean room. A nutrient solution was added daily.

NASA plant research
Anna-Lisa Paul tries moistening the lunar soils with a pipette. The scientists found that the soils repelled water (were hydrophobic), causing the water to bead-up on the surface. Active stirring of the material with water was required to break the hydrophobicity and uniformly wet the soil. Once moistened, the lunar soils could be wetted by capillary action for plant culture. Credits: UF/IFAS photo by Tyler Jones

“After two days, they started to sprout,” says Anna-Lisa Paul, who is also a professor in horticultural sciences at the University of Florida and first author on the paper. “Everything sprouted. I can’t tell you how astonished we were! Every plant — whether in a lunar sample or in a control — looked the same up until about day six.”

While the plants grown in the lunar soil were not as robust as plants grown in Earth soil, or even as those in the control group grown in a lunar simulant made from volcanic ash, they did indeed grow.

NASA plant research
By day 16, there were clear physical differences between plants grown in the volcanic ash lunar simulant, left, compared with those grown in the lunar soil, right. Credits: UF/IFAS photo by Tyler Jones

“This research is critical to NASA’s long-term human exploration goals as we’ll need to use resources found on the moon and Mars to develop food sources for future astronauts living and operating in deep space,” NASA administrator Bill Nelson shared in a press release

The research, he adds, could also have implications for plants growing in stressful conditions on Earth. 

“Not only is it pleasing for us to have plants around us, especially as we venture to new destinations in space, but they could provide supplemental nutrition to our diets and enable future human exploration,” says Sharmila Bhattacharya, program scientist with NASA’s Biological and Physical Sciences (BPS) Division. “Plants are what enable us to be explorers.”

Learn more about the research by watching this AgDay Minute (it starts about 1 min. in):

 

Learn More: Scientists Grow Plants in Lunar Soil

 

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