Scientists Achieve Breakthrough by Growing Flowers in Lunar Soil
Researchers successfully cultivated the first plants on moon soil, paving the way for future lunar missions and sustainable space agriculture.
Though not the most visually stunning, these plants mark a significant milestone in space exploration.
Scientists at the University of Florida have successfully grown the first plants in lunar soil. They obtained samples of lunar regolith collected over 50 years ago during NASA's Apollo missions and planted seeds of Arabidopsis thaliana, a small flowering plant, in this nutrient-poor soil.
The choice of Arabidopsis was deliberate: it was the first plant to have its entire genome sequenced, enabling scientists to monitor any genetic changes closely. Similar plants were previously grown in space aboard the Soviet Salyut-7 space station in 1982.
Surprisingly, green sprouts appeared by the second day of the experiment. However, by the sixth day, it became evident that plants grown in lunar soil were less healthy compared to those grown in Earth soil or even volcanic ash. Specifically, the lunar-grown plants exhibited slower growth, stunted roots, wilted leaves, and reddish pigmentation.
On day 20, just before flowering, researchers harvested and ground the plants to analyze their RNA. The analysis confirmed that the plants experienced stress similar to conditions caused by high salt or heavy metal concentrations in soil.
The study also revealed variability in the lunar soil samples: one sample supported significantly poorer plant growth than the others. The research team plans to plant new seeds in the same lunar soil to determine if the initial plants altered the soil in ways that would help future plants thrive.
These findings are crucial for the success of upcoming lunar missions, offering hope that in the future, astronauts could grow useful plants on the Moon without needing to transport soil from Earth. Further studies are planned to investigate how soil fertility varies across different lunar regions.
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