A great first! Indeed, scientists have succeeded in growing plants in a few grams of lunar soil, reported several years ago by the cosmonauts of the Apollo program.
Crucial research
Bill Nelson, the boss of the American space agency, spoke in a press release. According to him, “This research is crucial to NASA’s long-term human exploration goals”. In remarks relayed by the French press as BFM TVhe adds : “we will need to use the resources on the Lune and on Mars to develop food sources for future astronauts living in deep space”.
For this experiment, the scientists used only 12 grams of lunar soil collected from different places on the Lune during the missions Apollo 11, 12 et 17. In small pots the size of a thimble, the researchers placed approximately one gram of soil each time (regolith), before adding water, then the seeds. Every day they added a ‘nutrient solution’.
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Arabidopsis thaliana
The plant used by the scientists was theArabidopsis thaliana. This one grows easily and has already been carefully studied. Indeed, the genetic code of the plant and the way it behaves in hostile environments, even in space, are known by researchers.
In addition, other seeds were simultaneously planted in Terran soil, and samples that mimic lunar soil and Martian. “All the plants, whether in the lunar soil samples or in the control, looked alike until the sixth day”found Anna-Lisa Paullead author of the study.
However, subsequently, the plants on the lunar soil grew less quickly, showing stunted roots.
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