Scientists have (finally) grown plants in lunar soil!

21.08.2023 - 11:40 / theunconventionalgardener.com / Emma Doughty

Header image: Rob Ferl, left, and Anna-Lisa Paul looking at the plates filled part with lunar soil and part with control soils, now under LED growing lights. At the time, the scientists did not know if the seeds would even germinate in lunar soil. Credits: UF/IFAS photo by Tyler Jones

More than fifty years after NASA’s Apollo missions brought the first samples back to Earth, scientists have successfully grown plants in Moon soil (regolith).

When the Apollo missions returned samples of Moon rock to Earth, some were immediately used for experiments while others were put aside for future research.

Fifty years later, with the Artemis program poised to return humans to the Moon, NASA finally released some Moon rock samples to plant biologists, who have successfully used them to grow plants.

That’s right, folks. For the first time ever, researchers have grown plants in regolith (dirt) from the Moon. And the brave plants that boldly grew where none had grown before? The model and well-studied model plant Arabidopsis thaliana.

Arabidopsis thaliana is a relative of mustard greens and other cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts. It also plays a key role for scientists. Due to its small size and ease of growth, it is one of the most studied plants in the world, used as a model organism for research into all areas of plant biology. Scientists already know what its genes look like, how it behaves in different circumstances, and even how it grows in space.

“This research is critical to NASA’s long-term human exploration goals as we’ll need to use resources found on the Moon and Mars to develop food sources for future astronauts living and operating in deep space. This fundamental plant growth research is