Researchers from the University of Florida grew a plant on lunar regolith (soil from the Moon) for the first time ever. Besides their breakthrough, the backstory is equally inspiring.

Scientists Rob Ferl and Anna-Lisa Paul had applied for a lunar regolith three times over the past 11 years before they finally got it, 12 grams in total. Yet, it was much more than they hoped for — they applied for four grams.

Using thimble-sized wells in plastic plates, they placed a gram of the soil in each and added nutrient solution along with thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana) seeds. They also planted the seeds in other soil samples related to the moon like a simulated Martian soil, soil from extreme environments, and a substance similar to lunar soil as a control group.

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Their results showed that while nearly all the seeds they planted in the lunar regolith sprouted, the plants were slightly different from the ones planted in the control group soils. There were differences in size and pace of growth.

Also, according to their notes, the differences in the makeup of lunar soil samples affected the plants’ growth and sizes. The plants that struggled the most were from seeds planted in mature lunar soil, which is exposed to more cosmic wind.

In addition, the samples that the two scientists obtained came from the Apollo 11, 12, and 17 missions — and Apollo 11 samples were the most difficult to grow plants on.

While the result is a massive leap in space exploration as it shows that humans can grow plants for food and oxygen on the Moon, Rob Ferl and Anna-Lisa Paul’s conclusion is that they will need to conduct more experiments for now.

Take note that the lunar regolith is not just any soil sample from the surface of the Moon. Usually, they are a mixture of powdery dust and broken rock and are formed by the impact of meteorites on the Moon’s surface.

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