Kent scientists show lunar soil can support tea growth. Photo / University of Kentˇ
Kent scientists show lunar soil can support tea growth. Photo / University of Kentˇ
It’s one small step for man, one giant leap for teatime.
Tea plants can be grown in the Moon’s soil, the University of Kent has claimed.
Researchers planted saplings in soil that mimics those on the surface of the Moon and Mars and monitored how the plants develop over thecourse of several weeks.
The tea plants in lunar soil flourished, taking root and growing as well as those planted in local soil. In contrast, saplings planted in a simulated Martian surface failed to grow.
Dr Sara Lopez-Gomollo, a lecturer in plant biology at Kent, said: “The results of this project are very encouraging, as they demonstrate that tea can be grown in lunar soil.
“Our next step is to better understand the physiology of the plant under these conditions, so we can improve growth and ideally translate these findings to other crops.
“This is particularly exciting as we move beyond simply sending astronauts to the Moon and begin to think seriously about making it habitable, paving the way for long-duration space missions.”
Tea plants flourished taking root in lunar soil, it was found, making the Moon a possible place to grow food. Photo / Getty Images
Moon soil, which is also known as regolith, is dramatically different from that on Earth, containing rock, mineral fragments and tiny pieces of abrasive glass, and crucially lacking water, nitrogen and phosphorus to help plants thrive.
It is powdery and so sharp and angular that it started to wear away the space suits of the Apollo astronauts.
Scientists doubted that anything could grow in the hostile dust, until 2022, when a team at the University of Florida was able to grow cress plants in soil brought back from the Apollo missions.
Genetic studies on the lunar cress showed that the plants had changed their biology to cope with the harsh conditions, switching on dormant genes that are typically deployed to fight soils which contain high levels of salt or metal.
Plants exposed to lunar soils battered by the solar winds, such as near Tranquillity Base where Apollo 11 landed, struggled the most.
The latest experiments growing tea give more hope for a new era of “space agriculture” in which astronauts would not need to bring bulky supplies with them, but could grow crops off-planet.
Professor Nigel Mason, head of the School of Physical Sciences, said: “We’re moving into a new age of space, where we think about settling in space and building bases on the Moon or Mars.
“One of the first things you want to know is, ‘What will people eat?’. These experiments reveal that terrestrial plants such as tea may be cultivated in lunar soils within lunar greenhouses allowing inhabitants of such bases some degree of autonomy and access to fresh food.
“We are at the very earliest stages of research into space agriculture but it is reassuring that we may be able to provide access to the great British tradition of a tea break.”
The experiment has also had implications closer to home, showing how plants can adapt to survive harsh environments and poor soils, traits which could become vital if the planet continues to warm.
Lopez-Gomollo added: “We hope that the knowledge gained from studying plant survival in extreme extraterrestrial environments will also be applied to improving crop resilience here on Earth.”
