The first plants ever grown in moon dirt have sprouted

In a tiny, lab-grown garden, the first seeds ever sown in lunar dirt have sprouted.

This small crop was planted in samples returned by the Apollo missions roughly 50 years ago.

Its success offers hope that astronauts might someday grow their own food on the moon

The plant species Arabidopsis thaliana grown in a small amount of soil from the moon.

Moon-grown plants also grew more slowly than those nourished in earthly material. 

Left - Thale cress plants grown for 16 days in volcanic material from Earth. Right Top - Plants potted in samples returned by the Apollo 11 mission Right Middle - Plants grown in samples from Apollo 12 Right Bottom - Plants grown in samples from Apollo 12

These findings suggest that farming on the moon would take a lot more than a green thumb

Arrow

Discount Up to 82% Today's Hot Deals