The Moon’s soil is called “regolith”, and there’s not a lot of it on Earth. It is so rare that it took scientists 11 years to persuade the authority to use it. There are three different types of regolith. One was taken from the top layer of the Moon’s surface, and the others came from deeper layers of the Moon’s soil.
Soil from the moon is very different from regular soil. It’s powdery and doesn’t have many nutrients—things that help plants grow. The soil has a large amount of iron, and is full of tiny pieces of glass from smashed meteorites(陨石).
The scientists chose a plant called thale cress(鼠耳芥) for their experiment. It’s a small plant related to broccoli that can grow in very little soil. Scientists know a lot about the DNA of thale cress, which helps them understand how it reacts to the soil it’s planted in.
The researchers separated the lunar soil into 12 tiny containers. They got the soil wet with water mixed with nutrients. Then they added seeds. To compare, the researchers also planted thale cress seeds in ash from volcanoes—a sort of fake lunar soil.
After two days of watering, the scientists saw green growths in every container. “Everything sprouted. I can’t tell you how astonished we were!” said the report’s lead author. As the scientists continued to care for the plants, they began to notice differences.
The plants grown in lunar soil weren’t as healthy as those grown in volcano ash. They were smaller and grew more slowly. Their roots didn’t develop as well, and some leaves turned red. The plants grown in the top layer of lunar soil did the worst of all.
The researchers say the growth patterns show that the plants were “stressed” by the lunar soil. Still, they were surprised that the plants were able to grow at all. By studying changes in the DNA of the plants grown in lunar soil, scientists may one day figure out new ways to help plants grow better in the Moon’s soil.
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