Researchers from the University of Florida in the United States achieved a historic milestone by growing plants in lunar regolith, the Moon’s soil, using samples brought back by Apollo missions. This breakthrough paves the way for significant agricultural experiments beyond Earth and marks a potential step toward sustainable life support for deep-space missions.
In a paper published in Communications Biology, the team demonstrated that plants can germinate and mature in lunar soil. The study explains how lunar regolith interacts with plant biology, revealing notable differences from Earth soil in its chemical makeup and structure.
This research represents an initial move toward producing food and oxygen on the Moon for future missions. It aligns with the Artemis program, which plans renewed human presence on the lunar surface.
Artemis will require a deeper understanding of plant growth in space, remarked Rob Ferl, a study coauthor and distinguished professor of horticultural sciences at UF/IFAS. His insights point to the practical need for green systems as astronauts live and work beyond Earth.
Scientists succeeded in growing plants on lunar soil samples associated with Apollo missions, a record that underscores the feasibility of lunar agriculture and the potential of the Moon as a hub for longer space voyages.
Anna-Lisa Paul, another study coauthor and research professor of horticultural sciences at UF/IFAS, recalls how lunar soil interactions were investigated early in lunar exploration. In those early days, plant studies helped verify that Moon samples did not carry terrestrial pathogens and that lunar regolith could interact with plant biology in meaningful ways while not directly supporting plant growth at the time.
Paul and Ferl are widely recognized for their work on plants in space, with experiments conducted on space shuttles, the International Space Station, and suborbital flights through UF’s Space Facility Laboratory.
We should view the Moon as a possible hub or launch point for extended space missions. It makes sense to use the land already present to cultivate plants, according to Ferl. The question remains: how do plants respond to lunar soil, an environment far outside their evolutionary history? Could a lunar greenhouse be feasible? Might there be moon farmers?
To explore these questions, the researchers designed a straightforward experiment: sow seeds in lunar soil, supply water, nutrients, and light, and observe the outcomes.
It had only twelve grams of lunar soil
The team faced a major constraint: only about 12 grams of lunar soil were available for the study. This material, borrowed from NASA, originated from Apollo 11, 12, and 17 missions. After years of trying, Paul and Ferl finally earned access to lunar regolith for their work over eleven years.
That tiny amount of soil—indescribably valuable scientifically—demanded a meticulously designed, miniature experiment. To cultivate their moon garden, they created micro-sized pots in plastic containers typically used for cell growth.
Each well acted as a tiny flower pot, holding roughly one gram of soil. The soil was moistened with a nutrient solution, and a small number of Arabidopsis seeds were planted to start the test.
Arabidopsis, the plant of choice
Arabidopsis is a staple in plant science because its genetic code is fully mapped. Growing Arabidopsis in lunar soil allowed researchers to trace how soil conditions influence gene expression in plants.
For comparison, Arabidopsis was also grown on JSC-1A, a terrestrial simulant of lunar soil, as well as simulated Martian soils and Earth soils from extreme environments. These non-lunar soils served as control conditions for the experiment.
Before planting, there was some uncertainty about germination in lunar soil. But the seeds largely sprouted as expected, an outcome that surprised the researchers. It suggested that lunar soils do not disrupt the hormone signals that trigger germination, Paul notes.
Over time, differences emerged between plants grown in lunar soil and the control groups. Some lunar-soil plants remained smaller or grew more slowly, while others varied more in size. These physical traits indicated the plants were adapting to the lunar soil’s chemical and structural properties, a conclusion reinforced by gene-expression analysis.
On the genetic level, plants appear to employ stress-response tools to cope with the lunar environment. The team infers that lunar soil presents stressors similar to salinity, metals, or oxidative stress and aims to use gene-expression data to bolster the stress tolerance of crops for future lunar cultivation while ensuring environmental safety.
Ferl and Paul, who worked with geology expert Stephen Elardo from UF, note that the origin of the lunar soil seems to influence plant responses. For instance, plants showed more stress on mature lunar soils, which have been more exposed to cosmic weathering, whereas those grown on less mature soils fared better. Elardo adds that lunar soils may alter their own mineralogy when watered and fed in the presence of plants, sparking questions about how best to modify the soil to support growth in a dry, airless world.
Follow-up studies will address these and other questions, but the current achievement marks a significant milestone in growing plants on the Moon. As Ferl puts it, this experiment answers a long-standing question: can plants thrive in lunar soil? The answer appears to be yes.
Note: this article reflects ongoing research and does not include outreach details or third-party contact information.