Chickpeas have become the first crop to be grown and harvested in simulated lunar soil, according to a new study.
With Nasa aiming to have humans living and working on the Moon in the next 10 years through its Artemis programme, many are wondering what these astronauts will eat. In a study led by the University of Texas at Austin, researchers have been looking into what it will take to grow crops on the lunar surface.
Lunar regolith, commonly known as moon dirt, lacks the microorganisms and organic material required for plants to grow. While it contains some essential nutrients and minerals, it also contains heavy metals that could be toxic to plants.
Sara Santos, the principal investigator of the project at the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics, asked: “How do we transform this regolith into soil? What kinds of natural mechanisms can cause this conversion?”
For their study, the researchers used simulated mineral-based regolith from Exolith Lab. Based at the the University of...