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Scientists are closer to being able to grow crops on the moon after successfully cultivating chickpeas in simulated lunar soil, according to a new study.
Researchers were able to accomplish the feat by treating the simulated regolith, as lunar soil is known, with both a symbiotic fungi and worm-produced compost, according to a paper published Thursday in Scientific Reports. The fungi and compost significantly improved the likelihood of reproduction of the chickpea plants, the study found.
Lunar soil on its own doesn't support healthy plant growth for a number of reasons, one of which is because it contains high concentrations of metals, including aluminum and zinc, Jess Atkin, a Ph.D. candidate at Texas A&M University's Department of Soil & Crop Sciences, told ABC News. The regolith also lacks the microbiome found in Earth soils, and its powder-like consistency doesn't allow water to easily filter through it, according to the paper.
"To have [arable] soil, you have to have two things: organic matter and microorganisms," Atkin said. "And the moon doesn't have either of those things."
abcnews.com
Researchers were able to accomplish the feat by treating the simulated regolith, as lunar soil is known, with both a symbiotic fungi and worm-produced compost, according to a paper published Thursday in Scientific Reports. The fungi and compost significantly improved the likelihood of reproduction of the chickpea plants, the study found.
Lunar soil on its own doesn't support healthy plant growth for a number of reasons, one of which is because it contains high concentrations of metals, including aluminum and zinc, Jess Atkin, a Ph.D. candidate at Texas A&M University's Department of Soil & Crop Sciences, told ABC News. The regolith also lacks the microbiome found in Earth soils, and its powder-like consistency doesn't allow water to easily filter through it, according to the paper.
"To have [arable] soil, you have to have two things: organic matter and microorganisms," Atkin said. "And the moon doesn't have either of those things."
Chickpeas have successfully grown and been harvested in simulated moon dirt, a new study says
Scientists have successfully grown a crop using soil made from simulated moon dirt, according to a new study.
