Image source, UF/IFASScientists have grown plants in lunar soil for the first time, an important step towards making long-term stays on the moon possible.
A type of cress was grown using small samples of dust collected during the 1969- 1972 Apollo missions.
After two days, the seeds sprouted.
Anna-Lisa Paul, a University of Florida professor who co-authored a paper on the findings, said she couldn't tell you how astonished they were.
Every plant looked the same until about day six, regardless of whether it was a lunar sample or a control.
There were differences after that. The plants that were grown in moon soil started to show stress, which eventually led to stunted growth.
Those involved say that it is a breakthrough and that it has earthly implications.
This research is critical to Nasa's long-term human exploration goals as we will 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 also a key example of how Nasa is working tounlock agricultural innovations that could help us understand how plants might overcome stress in food-scarce areas here on Earth.
There isn't much lunar soil to experiment with. The moon's core samples, pebbles, sand and dust were brought back by astronauts over a three-year period in 1969.
The University of Florida team was only given 1g of soil per plant for the experiment, which has been kept away for decades.
Humans will be on the moon for the first time in 45 years in a mission in 2025.
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