Scientists successfully grow plants in moon soil for first time

Lunar regolith, with its sharp particles and lack of organic material, differs greatly from Earth soil, so it was unknown whether seeds would germinate

Scientists for the first time have grown seeds in the soil from the moon - samples retrieved during NASA missions in 1969 and 1972 - in an achievement that heralds the promise of using earthly plants to support human outposts on other worlds.

Researchers said on May 12 they planted seeds of a diminutive flowering weed called Arabidopsis thaliana in 12 small thimble-sized containers each bearing a gram of moon soil, more properly called lunar regolith, and watched as they sprouted and grew. Lunar regolith, with its sharp particles and lack of organic material, differs greatly from Earth soil, so it was unknown whether seeds would germinate.

"When we first saw that abundance of green sprouts cast over all of the samples, it took our breath away," said horticultural sciences professor Anna-Lisa Paul, director of the University of Florida Interdisciplinary Center for Biotechnology Research and co-leader of the study published in the journal Communications Biology.

"Plants can grow in the lunar regolith. That one simple statement is huge and opens the door to future exploration using resources in place on the moon and likely Mars," Ms. Paul said.

Every seed germinated and there were no outward differences at the early stages of growth between those sown in the regolith - composed mostly of crushed basalt rocks - and seeds sown for comparative reasons in volcanic ash from Earth with similar mineral composition and particle size.

The regolith seeds, perhaps unsurprisingly, did less well than the comparison plants. They were slower to grow and generally littler, had more stunted roots, and were more apt to exhibit stress-related traits such as smaller leaves and deep reddish-black coloration not typical of healthy growth. They also showed gene activity indicative of stress, similar to plant reactions to salt, metal, and oxidation.

"Even though plants could grow in the regolith, they had to work hard metabolically to do so," Ms. Paul said.