The researchers reported that they planted seeds of a low flowering weed called Arabidopsis thaliana in 12 small containers. These containers are very small which are only equal to the tip of a human finger. In these, only 1 gram of lunar soil was put, which is properly called lunar regolith. This soil is very different from Earth’s soil due to the lack of sharp particles and organic material, so scientists suspected that plants might not grow.
“When we first saw that all the samples had green shoots, we were taken aback,” said Ana Lisa Paul, professor of horticultural sciences at the University of Florida. He said, “Plants can grow on lunar soil. This simple sentence is huge in itself and opens the door for future moons and mars.”
Every single seed germinated in this soil, and when viewed from the outside, no difference could be seen in the early stages of germination in the lunar soil. This soil is mostly composed of pulverized basalt rocks. The seeds were also grown in the ash of a volcano that erupted on Earth because it also contains the same mineral content and the same size of particles. Through this, scientists wanted to compare both types of soil.
Plants grown in lunar soil did not grow as expected as compared to plants grown in volcanic soil. They grew very slowly and were very small in size. Their roots were very dry and the leaves were small, whose color was red and black. It was telling that their healthy development could not happen. They reacted in the same way as common plants react to salt, metals and oxidation.
Paul said that even if plants could grow in the lunar soil, they had to work very hard from a metabolic point of view. But it was a big deal for the researchers to grow them. He further said that the growing of plants only strengthens the possibility that we can go to the moon to grow our own food, clean the air and recycle water with the help of plants, as on Earth. even do.
NASA provided only 12 grams of soil for this experiment, which was collected during the Apollo 11, Apollo 12 and Apollo 17 missions. The researchers put 3-4 seeds in about a dozen containers and added a nutrient solution to them. After that, they were kept in the lab at a temperature of 23 degree Celsius, above which arrangement of pink tinted light was also arranged.
The seeds germinated within 3 days. After a week these plants were removed except for one. One remaining plant was allowed to grow up to 20 cm and was then cut for genetic studies. Scientists found that the lunar soil, which has been exposed to cosmic rays and solar wind for a long time, is not very good for plant growth.