(UPDATED) WASHINGTON: That's one small pot of soil, one giant leap for man's knowledge of space agriculture: scientists have for the first time grown plants in lunar soil brought back by astronauts in the Apollo program. That would save future space missions much hassle and expense, facilitating longer and farther trips. As a control group, seeds were also planted in soil from Earth as well as samples imitating lunar and Martian soil. Their analysis showed that the lunar plants had reacted similarly to those grown in hostile environments, such as soil with too much salt, or heavy metals. In the future, scientists want to understand how this environment could be made more hospitable.

Source: Manila Times May 13, 2022 14:04 UTC