{"id":14292,"date":"2022-07-04T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-03T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/?post_type=purple_issue&#038;p=14292"},"modified":"2022-09-16T09:04:34","modified_gmt":"2022-09-16T07:04:34","slug":"nasa-researchers-grow-plants-in-lunar-soil-collected-from-the-apollo-missions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/2022\/07\/04\/nasa-researchers-grow-plants-in-lunar-soil-collected-from-the-apollo-missions\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA researchers grow plants in lunar soil collected from the Apollo missions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center\">NASA RESEARCHERS GROW PLANTS IN LUNAR SOIL COLLECTED DURING THE APOLLO MISSIONS<\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap article-full-body sans-serif\">If humans want to spend extended periods on the Moon, or travel deeper into the Solar System, we\u2019re going to need a reliable food source. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"article-full-body sans-serif\">Researchers at the University of Florida have found a possible solution to that problem. They\u2019ve grown <em>Arabidopsis thaliana  <\/em>\u2013 a green-leafed, cress-like plant in 50-year-old samples of regolith \u2013 lunar surface material \u2013 that were collected during the Apollo 11, 12 and 17 missions. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"article-full-body sans-serif\">They placed the seeds in samples of regolith, put them under LED grow lamps (along with control seeds planted in regular Earth soil and volcanic ash) and fed them with a nutrient solution every day. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"article-full-body sans-serif\">\u201cAfter two days, they started to sprout,\u201d said lead researcher Prof Anna-Lisa Paul. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"article-full-body sans-serif\">\u201cEverything sprouted. I can\u2019t tell you how astonished we were!\u201d <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"article-full-body sans-serif\">After day six, the growth of the samples planted in the regolith began to slow and when later examined were found to have stunted roots and leaves. The plants\u2019 growth also varied according to which mission\u2019s regolith they were planted in, with the Apollo 11 samples faring worse than the others. It\u2019s hoped that further research will lead to plants that can be made robust enough to thrive in lunar surface material. <\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"no-tts wp-block-purple-slider\" data-autoplay=\"true\" data-speed=\"300\" data-effect=\"fade\"><li class=\"no-tts blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img src=\"https:\/\/dj9jqhxgw9833.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2022\/07\/plants_in_soil_from_the_moon4.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"14533\" data-link=\"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/?attachment_id=14533\"\/><figcaption>Lunar regolith is hydrophobic \u2013 meaning it repels water \u2013 so the researchers needed to mix water through it before planting the seeds<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"no-tts blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img src=\"https:\/\/dj9jqhxgw9833.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2022\/07\/plants_in_soil_from_the_moon.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"14534\" data-link=\"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/?attachment_id=14534\"\/><figcaption>Profs Rob Ferl and Anna-Lisa Paul monitor the seeds growing in the soil samples underneath the LED grow lamps<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"no-tts blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img src=\"https:\/\/dj9jqhxgw9833.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2022\/07\/plants_in_soil_from_the_moon3.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"14535\" data-link=\"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/?attachment_id=14535\"\/><figcaption>The plants will now undergo genetic analysis to identify any alterations that could be made to their DNA to help them grow more easily in the regolith<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"no-tts blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img src=\"https:\/\/dj9jqhxgw9833.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2022\/07\/plants_in_soil_from_the_moon5.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"14536\" data-link=\"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/?attachment_id=14536\"\/><figcaption>After 16 days, the plants grown in the lunar regolith (top of the photo) are visibly less developed<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul>\n\n<p class=\"footer\">IMAGES: UF\/IFAS\/TYLER JONES<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If humans want to spend extended periods on the Moon, or travel deeper into the Solar System, we\u2019re going to need a reliable food source. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":14534,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ub_ctt_via":"","purple_page_number":"24","purple_custom_meta_purple_page_number":"24","purple_seq_number":"1","purple_custom_meta_purple_seq_number":"1","purple_source_article":"article_24-1.xml","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_article":"article_24-1.xml","purple_source_issue":"July-2022","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_issue":"July-2022","purple_external_id":"July-2022-24-1","purple_custom_meta_purple_external_id":"July-2022-24-1","purple_issue_code":"|0000089655||","purple_custom_meta_purple_issue_code":"|0000089655||","purple_android_product":"2022sciencefocusjuly","purple_custom_meta_purple_android_product":"2022sciencefocusjuly","purple_ios_product":"2022sciencefocusjuly","purple_custom_meta_purple_ios_product":"2022sciencefocusjuly","purple_web_product":"","purple_custom_meta_purple_web_product":"","purple_publication_id":"0f422ad1-c939-476d-9f82-a410052ad4c3","purple_migrated":"","kt_blocks_editor_width":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2022-07-05T09:15:21Z","apple_news_article-theme":"","apple_news_api_id":"07cb1405-63d1-4036-a10a-4e349f467dab","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2022-07-06T12:53:56Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACA==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AB8sUBWPRQDahCk40n0Z9qw","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":true,"apple_news_is_preview":true,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_article_theme":"","apple_news_sections":"[]"},"categories":[25],"tags":[15],"apple_news_notices":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2022\/07\/plants_in_soil_from_the_moon.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"2","apple_news_title":""},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2022\/07\/plants_in_soil_from_the_moon.jpg",1339,900,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2022\/07\/plants_in_soil_from_the_moon-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2022\/07\/plants_in_soil_from_the_moon-300x202.jpg",300,202,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2022\/07\/plants_in_soil_from_the_moon-768x516.jpg",768,516,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2022\/07\/plants_in_soil_from_the_moon-1024x688.jpg",800,538,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2022\/07\/plants_in_soil_from_the_moon.jpg",1339,900,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2022\/07\/plants_in_soil_from_the_moon.jpg",1339,900,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"If humans want to spend extended periods on the Moon, or travel deeper into the Solar System, we\u2019re going to need a reliable food 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