Growing Plants on the Moon May Be Feasible

Smivs writes "European scientists say that growing plants on the moon should be possible. Scientists in the Netherlands believe growing plants on our sister satellite would be useful as a tool to learn how life adapts to lunar conditions. It would also aid in understanding the challenges that might be faced by manned bases. 'The new step, taken in the experiments reported at the EGU, is to remove the need for bringing nutrients and soil from Earth. A team led by Natasha Kozyrovska and Iryna Zaetz from the National Academy of Sciences in Kiev planted marigolds in crushed anorthosite, a type of rock found on Earth which is very similar to much of the lunar surface. In neat anorthosite, the plants fared very badly. But adding different types of bacteria made them thrive; the bacteria appeared to draw elements from the rock that the plants needed, such as potassium.'"

Comments

wishful thinking

[Ralph Spoilsport]

Let's see, Plants need:

1. dirt filled with vital nutrients (potassium, nitrogen, and others...)
2. an atmosphere at a sufficient pressure that can maintain water, and contains CO2 and nitrogen.
3. soil that isn't too acidic.
4. soil that isn't too alkaline.
5. bacteria in the soil that can fix nitrogen and other important nutrients.
6. water that isn't too acidic or alkaline.
7. not be subjected to withering UV and cosmic radiation.
8. a consistent temperature gradient somewhere above freezing and well below boiling.

How many of these conditions are met on the moon?

None.

Growing plants on the moon is wishful thinking. Period.

RS