Scientists in lunar breakthrough as plants are grown in Moon soil

PLANTS have been grown in soil from the Moon for the first time.

The milestone in lunar and space exploration is a first step towards one day growing plants for food and oxygen on the Moon or during space missions.

In the new study, University of Florida researchers showed the arabidopsis plant – thale cress – can successfully sprout and grow in soil that was collected from the Apollo 11, 12 and 17 missions.

Their study also investigated how plants respond biologically to the Moon’s soil, also known as lunar regolith, which is radically different from soil found on Earth.

The research comes as the Artemis Program plans to return humans to the Moon.

Rob Ferl, one of the study’s authors and a professor of horticultural sciences in the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS), said: “Showing that plants will grow in lunar soil is actually a huge step in that direction of being able to establish ourselves in lunar colonies.”

He added that it was also important to show that lunar soils were not harmful to terrestrial life, and also that terrestrial life could establish itself.

Anna-lisa Paul, one of the study’s authors and a research professor of horticultural sciences in UF/IFAS, explained: “The plants that were responding the most strongly to what we would call oxidative stress responses, those are the ones especially in the Apollo 11 samples, they are the ones that turned purple.

“And that’s the same thing that’s in blueberries and cranberries, and all of those, those dark red and purple fruits that are healthy for humans because of their antioxidative properties.

“We definitely don’t know the nutritive value of these plants, but it is likely not to pose any threat to humans.”