Scientists Grow Plants in Dirt from Moon
2022-05-17
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1For the first time, scientists have grown plants in moon soil collected by NASA's Apollo astronauts.
2The scientists had no idea if anything would grow in the moon dirt.
3They wanted to see if it could be used to grow food by the next generation of moon explorers.
4The results surprised them.
5Robert Ferl of the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences was surprised with the results.
6"Plants actually grow in lunar stuff. Are you kidding me?" he said.
7Ferl and other researchers planted thale cress, a small flowering plant, in moon soil returned from the Apollo missions.
8The good news was that all of the seeds grew.
9The bad news was that after the first week, the lunar soil stressed the plants so much that they grew slowly.
10Most of the moon plants ended up stunted - meaning small or not fully developed.
11Results of the study appeared recently in the publication Communications Biology.
12The longer the soil was exposed to radiation and solar wind on the moon, the worse the plants seemed to do.
13The soil collected by the Apollo 11 mission was the least helpful for growth.
14It was exposed a couple billion years longer to the elements, the scientists said.
15Simon Gilroy of the University of Wisconsin-Madison was not part of the study.
16He said, "This is a big step forward to know that you can grow plants."
17Gilroy added, "The real next step is to go and do it on the surface of the moon."
18Moon dirt is full of glass particles from micrometeorite impacts.
19These particles got in the Apollo lunar landers and wore down the moonwalkers' spacesuits.
20One solution might be to use younger geologic spots on the moon, like lava flows, for digging up soil.
21The environment also could be changed by adding special nutrient mixtures or artificial lighting.
22Only 382 kilograms of moon rocks and soil were brought back by the six Apollo crews that landed on the moon.
23Most of them are still locked away, forcing researchers to experiment with soil made of volcanic ash on Earth.
24Early last year, NASA finally gave out 12 grams of soil to the University of Florida researchers for the planting experiment.
25NASA said the timing for such an experiment was finally right, with the space agency looking to put astronauts back on the moon in a few years.
26The best situation would be for future astronauts to use local dirt for indoor planting instead of setting up a hydroponic, or all-water, system, scientists said.
27Sharmila Bhattacharya is NASA's program scientist for space biology.
28Bhattacharya used the term optimize - meaning to make something as good or as effective as possible - to describe the work that lies ahead.
29She said, "The fact that anything grew means that we have a really good starting point, and now the question is how do we optimize and improve."
30The Florida scientists hope to reuse their lunar soil later this year, planting more thale cress before possibly moving on to other plants.
31I'm John Russell.
1For the first time, scientists have grown plants in moon soil collected by NASA's Apollo astronauts. 2The scientists had no idea if anything would grow in the moon dirt. They wanted to see if it could be used to grow food by the next generation of moon explorers. The results surprised them. 3Robert Ferl of the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences was surprised with the results. "Plants actually grow in lunar stuff. Are you kidding me?" he said. 4Ferl and other researchers planted thale cress, a small flowering plant, in moon soil returned from the Apollo missions. The good news was that all of the seeds grew. 5The bad news was that after the first week, the lunar soil stressed the plants so much that they grew slowly. Most of the moon plants ended up stunted - meaning small or not fully developed. 6Results of the study appeared recently in the publication Communications Biology. 7The longer the soil was exposed to radiation and solar wind on the moon, the worse the plants seemed to do. The soil collected by the Apollo 11 mission was the least helpful for growth. It was exposed a couple billion years longer to the elements, the scientists said. 8Simon Gilroy of the University of Wisconsin-Madison was not part of the study. He said, "This is a big step forward to know that you can grow plants." Gilroy added, "The real next step is to go and do it on the surface of the moon." 9Moon dirt is full of glass particles from micrometeorite impacts. These particles got in the Apollo lunar landers and wore down the moonwalkers' spacesuits. 10One solution might be to use younger geologic spots on the moon, like lava flows, for digging up soil. The environment also could be changed by adding special nutrient mixtures or artificial lighting. 11Only 382 kilograms of moon rocks and soil were brought back by the six Apollo crews that landed on the moon. Most of them are still locked away, forcing researchers to experiment with soil made of volcanic ash on Earth. 12Early last year, NASA finally gave out 12 grams of soil to the University of Florida researchers for the planting experiment. NASA said the timing for such an experiment was finally right, with the space agency looking to put astronauts back on the moon in a few years. 13The best situation would be for future astronauts to use local dirt for indoor planting instead of setting up a hydroponic, or all-water, system, scientists said. 14Sharmila Bhattacharya is NASA's program scientist for space biology. Bhattacharya used the term optimize - meaning to make something as good or as effective as possible - to describe the work that lies ahead. 15She said, "The fact that anything grew means that we have a really good starting point, and now the question is how do we optimize and improve." 16The Florida scientists hope to reuse their lunar soil later this year, planting more thale cress before possibly moving on to other plants. 17I'm John Russell. 18Marcia Dunn reported on this story for the Associated Press. John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English. 19___________________________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21lunar - adj. of or relating to the moon 22kid - v. to speak to (someone) in a way that is not serious : to say things that are not true to (someone) in a joking way 23micrometeorite -- n. a meteorite so small that it can pass through the earth's atmosphere without becoming intensely heated; a very small particle in interplanetary space