Scientists successfully grow plants in Moon soil – See Exclusive PHOTOS

Scientists successfully grow plants in Moon soil – See Exclusive PHOTOS1/6

Taking a step towards producing food and oxygen on the Moon or during future space missions, scientists successfully grow plants in lunar soil brought back to Earth by astronauts in the Apollo missions. The researchers designed a simple experiment: plant seeds in lunar soil, add water, nutrients and light, and record the results. Let us take a look at some of the images of first plants in Moon soil:2/6

The researchers at the University of Florida (UF) in the US showed that plants can successfully sprout and grow in lunar soil. (Image credit: Tyler Jones, UF/IFAS via Reuters)

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To grow their tiny lunar garden, the researchers used thimble-sized wells in plastic plates normally used to culture cells. Each well functioned as a pot. (Image credit: Tyler Jones/UF/IFAS via AP)

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They only had 12 grammes — just a few teaspoons — of lunar soil with which to do this experiment. (Image credit: Tyler Jones/UF/IFAS via AP)

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On loan from NASA, this soil was collected during the Apollo 11, 12 and 17 missions to the moon. (Image credit: Tyler Jones/UF/IFAS via AP)

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The plant species Arabidopsis thaliana is seen sprouting at a University of Florida laboratory in a small amount of lunar regolith – soil from the moon. (Image credit: Tyler Jones, UF/IFAS via Reuters)