For the first time growing plants with soil from the Moon

Plants grown with lunar soil in a study by the University of Florida (USA) – Photo: AFP

According to AFP news agency, the groundbreaking experiment was published in the journal Communications Biology on May 12, giving researchers hope that one day humans will be able to plant trees directly on the Moon.

This will help save money on future space missions, enabling longer and longer trips.

However, the team of experts who carried out the above study from the University of Florida (USA) said that there is still much to be learned in this field.

Mr. Bill Nelson, director of the US Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), said: “This research is very important to NASA’s long-term human exploration goals. We need to use the resources found on the Moon and Mars to grow food to help future astronauts sustain life and activity in space.”

In their experiment, the researchers used only 12g of soil collected from various points on the Moon during the Apollo 11, 12 and 17 missions.

They put about 1g of soil into each tiny pot, then sow seeds, water and fertilize every day.

The researchers chose to plant arabidopsis thaliana – a relative of broccoli – because the variety is easy to live with and has been well-studied.

As a control, the team also planted seeds in Earth’s soil and simulated lunar and Martian soil samples.

As a result, all of these samples germinated, including the lunar soil samples.

According to lead researcher Anna-Lisa Paul, all of these samples grew the same until about day six. Then the differences started to appear: plants grown in the soil of the Moon grew more slowly and took root. thin.

After 20 days, the scientists harvested all the plants and conducted their DNA studies.

The analysis showed that plants grown on lunar soil responded similarly to those grown in extreme environments, such as soils with too much salt or heavy metals.

In the future, scientists want to understand how to make the environment on the Moon more plant-friendly.

NASA is preparing to return to the Moon as part of the Artemis program, with the long-term goal of establishing a permanent human presence on the planet.