Farming on the Moon could become a reality sooner rather than later.
On the Moon, farming is possible. Plants are grown in lunar soil in groundbreaking research. For the first time, plants were grown in lunar soil brought to Earth 50 years ago.
Web Desk from India Today: The crew on this faraway planet will require food to survive as humans plan to return to the Moon with the US’s Artemis mission and China collaborates with Russia to build a lunar station. It’s possible that farming on the Moon will become a reality in the near future.
Plants have been successfully grown for the first time in the lunar soil by scientists. The astronauts of the Apollo era brought this lunar soil, also known as regolith, from the Moon to Earth. Science has taken over fifty years after these samples were found.
According to Nasa, the hardy and extensively studied Arabidopsis thaliana has been grown for the first time ever in the lunar regolith, which lacks nutrients. Arabidopsis thaliana is a relative of mustard greens and other cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts. It is native to Eurasia and Africa.
A group of scientists from the University of Florida made the breakthrough.
Because we will need to develop food sources for future astronauts living and working in deep space, this research is essential to NASA’s long-term human exploration objectives. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson stated, “This fundamental research on plant growth is also a key example of how NASA is working to unlock agricultural innovations that could help us understand how plants might overcome stressful conditions in food-scarce areas here on Earth.”
putting a plant that was grown for the experiment in a vial so that it can be genetically analyzed later. Photo: Nasa: Can plants thrive on the moon?
The regolith’s capacity for plant growth was one of two fundamental questions being investigated by scientists. Second, how might that one day make it possible for humans to spend more time on the Moon?
Moonsoil can be grown in, which is the answer to the first question. Although they did grow, scientists claimed that they were not as robust as plants grown in Earth soil or even in the control group that were grown in a lunar simulant made from volcanic ash.
Chief Exploration Scientist Jacob Bleacher, who is working with NASA’s Artemis program, stated, “To explore further and to learn about the solar system we live in, we need to take advantage of what’s on the Moon, so we don’t have to take all of it with us.”
A gram of regolith was allotted to each plant by scientists when they used lunar soil brought to Earth by the Apollo 11, 12, and 17 missions. After adding seeds to the samples, the team added water. The trays were then placed in cleanroom terrarium boxes. Each day, a nutrient solution was added.
A group of scientists from the University of Florida have made the breakthrough. Photo: Nasa) “They started to sprout after two days. The entire thing grew. We were astonished beyond belief! According to Anna-Lisa Paul, who is also a professor in the department of Horticultural Sciences, “every plant, whether in a lunar sample or in a control, looked the same up until about day six.”
After 20 days, they harvested the plants and examined the RNA. When the RNA was sequenced, the expression patterns of the genes showed that the plants were in fact under stress and had reacted in the same way that Arabidopsis grows in harsh environments.
As more and more research is done, the team is hopeful that this new discovery will allow them to harvest crops on the Moon one day.
