Over the moon for plants!

Over the moon for plants!: A new scientific discovery involving plants growing in soil from the moon has made headlines.With just a few teaspoons of lunar soil collected from Apollo missions, scientists from the University of Florida grew plants, a “lunar garden” as they defined it, with only water, light and other nutrients.A new published study in the “Communications Biology” journal shows the team involved in the breakthrough revealing that plants can successfully sprout & grow in lunar soil.Their research explored how plants respond biologically to the moon’s soil, also called lunar regolith, which is completely different from soil on Earth.It is considered to be the 1st time in history that plants from the Earth have been grown in soil extracted from the moon.“For future, longer space missions, we may use the moon as a hub or launching pad.“It makes sense that we would want to use the soil that’s already there to grow plants. So, what happens when you grow plants in lunar soil, something that is totally outside of a plant’s evolutionary experience?“What would plants do in a lunar greenhouse? Could we have lunar farmers?” stated Rob Ferl, one of the study’s authors and Professor of Horticultural Sciences at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.Image: UF/IFAS photo by Tyler JonesOver the moon for plants!