Scientists grow flowers on lunar soil for the first time

Researchers at the University of Florida succeeded grow the first plants on lunar soil. To do this, they received from NASA samples of regolith obtained more than 50 years ago by the Apollo missions, and planted seeds of the ruciferous plant in this nutrient-poor soil.

They were not chosen by chance: this is the first plant in which the entire genome has been completely sequenced, which allows scientists to track any changes in it. Previously, such flowers have already succeededFirst species of plant to flower in space / Guinness World Record grown in space: at the Soviet Salyut-7 station in 1982.

To the surprise of the scientists, on the second day of the experiment, green sprouts began to appear. However, already on the sixth day it became clear that the plants are less healthy than if they were grown in terrestrial soil - and even compared to a control group grown on volcanic ash. In particular, plants in the regolith grew more slowly and had stunted roots, and some had wilted leaves and reddish pigmentation.

On the 20th day, just before flowering began, the scientists collected the plants, crushed them, and studied the RNA. The analysis confirmed that the plants were indeed stressed and responded to it in the same way as they would to other harsh conditions, such as soil high in salt or heavy metals.

Scientists also found that the quality of the lunar soil is not uniform: one sample grew significantly worse than the other two. The team now plans to plant new seeds in the same regolith. Their goal is to find out if the first plants had any effect on the lunar soil, so that it would be easier for the next generation of plants to grow in it.

It is noted that the results of these studies are important for the success of subsequent missions to the Moon: they give hope that in the future it will be possible to grow useful plants without bringing soil from Earth. Additional studies are also planned to find out if soil fertility differs in different regions of the moon.