Scientists for the first time have grown plants in soil from the moon collected by NASA’s Apollo astronauts
In this 2021 photo provided by the University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, a researcher harvests a thale cress plant growing in lunar soil, at a laboratory in Gainesville, Fla. For the first time, scientists have used lunar soil collected by long-ago moonwalkers to grow plants, with results promising enough that NASA and others already are envisioning hothouses on the moon for the next generation of lunar explorers. CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.
Ferl and his colleagues planted thale cress in moon soil returned by Apollo 11′s Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, and other moonwalkers. The good news: All of the seeds sprouted. Moon dirt is full of tiny, glass fragments from micrometeorite impacts that got everywhere in the Apollo lunar landers and wore down the moonwalkers’ spacesuits.
Most of the lunar stash remained locked away, forcing researchers to experiment with simulated soil made of volcanic ash on Earth. NASA finally doled out 12 grams to the University of Florida researchers early last year, and the long-awaited planting took place last May in a lab.