Is there fertile soil on the Moon?
The answer to the first question is a resounding yes. Plants can grow in lunar regolith. They were not as robust as plants grown in Earth soil, or even as those in the control group grown in a lunar simulant made from volcanic ash, but they did indeed grow.
Share that the Moon and many planets and asteroids have a special type of soil on their surface, called regolith. Unlike the soil on Earth, the regolith on the Moon doesn't have any organic materials: no seeds, roots, or bacteria.
In May 2022, scientists at the University of Florida reported that they had successfully grown plants from seeds planted in Moon samples. NASA astronauts collected this lunar surface material decades earlier, during the Apollo program.
The lunar soil consists of three basic components: (1) rock fragments, (2) mineral grains and (3) glass particles. The composition of these three basic components varies considerably from one site to another, depending upon the nature of the bedrock.
'While there is no oxygen or carbon dioxide in the atmosphere for plants to grow on the surface of the Moon, plants could theoretically alter lunar soil in the same way they alter soil here on Earth over time if they were grown in the conditions of our planet.
Researchers at the University of Florida's Space Plants Lab grew Arabidopsis thaliana in the nutrient-poor lunar soil known as regolith. Arabidopsis thaliana is a well-researched small flowing plant native to Eurasia and Africa. They are a relative of mustard greens and other cruciferous vegetables.
The researchers used samples obtained by the Apollo 11 , 12 and 17 missions, but they didn't have much to work with. While a total of 842 pounds (382 kilograms) of soil and rocks has been brought back to Earth from the Moon, the researchers received just 12 grams of so-called "lunar regolith" from NASA.
The lunar surface is covered by a layer of unconsolidated debris called the lunar regolith (fig. 53).
Confirmation of Moon Water – Sunlit Surface (2020)
Data from the Strategic Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), revealed that in Clavius crater, water exists in concentrations roughly equivalent to a 12-ounce bottle of water within a cubic meter of soil across the lunar surface.
The longer the particle stays, the greater the chance for toxic effects,” explains Kim. The potential damage from inhaling this dust is unknown but research shows that lunar soil simulants can destroy lung and brain cells after long-term exposure.
Is the Moon soil the same as Earth?
Lunar soil contains some familiar elements, including iron and magnesium. But it lacks many of the minerals found on Earth. And the soil has a different, harsher texture: lots of tiny, sharp shards. It contains microscopic pieces of glass left over from meteorite impacts.
For the first time in history, researchers have used a small sample of lunar regolith to sprout seeds. The results can tell us much about feeding humanity throughout the solar system. Researchers have grown tiny Arabidopsis plants in samples of lunar regolith returned from the Moon.
Lunar soil contains fragments of the major lunar rock types: basalt, anorthosite, and breccia. In addition, round glass particles are common.
Feel it--it's soft like snow, yet strangely abrasive. Taste it--"not half bad," according to Apollo 16 astronaut John Young. Sniff it--"it smells like spent gunpowder," says Cernan.
You end up with distinct veins of minerals in a much larger body of rock. This has happened on the Moon: a rock type nicknamed KREEP (from potassium (K), Rare Earth Elements, and Phosphorus), which is highly enriched in incompatible elements, is widely distributed on the Moon.
The researchers at the University of Florida (UF) in the US showed that plants can successfully sprout and grow in lunar soil. This research comes as NASA's Artemis Program plans to return humans to the Moon.
This thale cress seedling sprouted from a seed potted in lunar dirt collected during some of the Apollo missions.
But its rays penetrate the soil, and affect plant life from germination to harvest. Most plants seem to need a rhythmic exposure to moonlight—at least for a week or so around the full moon—for optimal immunity, wound healing, regeneration, and growth.
- No. 1: Yellow Evening Primrose. ...
- No. 2: Night Phlox. ...
- No. 3: Night-Scented Stock. ...
- No. 4: Four O'Clock Flower. ...
- No. 5: Night Gladiolus. ...
- No. 6: Moonflower.
The age-old practice of performing farm chores by the Moon stems from the simple belief that the Moon governs moisture.
Are there natural resources on the Moon?
Solar power, oxygen, and metals are abundant resources on the Moon. Elements known to be present on the lunar surface include, among others, hydrogen (H), oxygen (O), silicon (Si), iron (Fe), magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), aluminium (Al), manganese (Mn) and titanium (Ti).
China's Lunar Aspirations
China is only the third country after the United States and the erstwhile Soviet Union to have achieved this feat since. Seven human Apollo spacecraft flights, six of which were successful, yielded 382 kilograms of lunar soil for the US between 1969 and 1972.
3 Regolith or “Soil” The uppermost portion of the lunar surface is fine, powdery and includes fragments sized up to several centimeters. Although often referred to as lunar soil, there is no organic component, and no weathering products as found on Earth.
Scientists have found water ice in the cold, permanently shadowed craters at the Moon's poles. Water molecules are also present in the extremely thin lunar atmosphere.
The Moon has virtually no atmosphere and the temperature on lunar surfaces can get up to 123 degrees Celsius (253 Fahrenheit) during a lunar day - high enough to boil away any water.
After walking on the Moon astronauts hopped back into their lunar lander, bringing Moon dust with them. They were surprised, and perplexed, to find that it smelled like spent gunpowder.
Researchers have found that samples of lunar soil can act as a catalyst to convert carbon dioxide and water from astronauts' bodies and the environment into methane and oxygen. The chemical process is described in detail in an article published in the National Science Review.
Because there's no wind on the moon, the dust never erodes. Instead, grains of moon dust — which are largely the products of micrometeorite impacts — remain sharp and abrasive and can easily slice into an astronaut's lung cells if breathed in too deeply.
You could try to buy the lunar dust collected by the Soviet space program, though there's reportedly less than a pound of it worldwide, and samples tend to sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars at auction.
Note that the only discernible color is on the devices themselves, particularly the gold blanketing and connector cables, the lunar soil is, well, gray. This is from Apollo 16, showing Charlie Duke at the rover.
Can lunar soil support life?
The report published in the scientific journal Joule found that moon soil contains active compounds that could be used, along with sunlight and carbon dioxide, to produce water, oxygen and fuel to support life on a moonbase and enable further exploration of space.
All lunar rock and soil do, however, contain approximately 45 wt% oxygen, combined with metals or nonmetals to form oxides. This oxygen can be extracted if thermal, electrical, or chemical energy is invested to break the chemical bonds.
Shaving Off the Rough Edges
Like water running over pebbles or a constant breeze blowing over a field, the particles' rough surfaces are eroded away, making them roundish and relatively easy to deal with. “There is no erosion on the Moon,” said Dr. Erica Montbach, project manager, lunar dust mitigation at Glenn.
The only material needed to make concrete that is not available on the moon is water. Alumina cement theoretically can be produced by heating select moon rocks at high temperatures.
Valuable titanium ore
Titanium on the moon is primarily found in the mineral ilmenite, a compound that contains iron, titanium and oxygen. If humans one day mine on the moon, they could break down ilmenite to separate these elements.
The Moon is dominantly composed of silicate minerals. Typically, plagioclase is by far the most abundant and there commonly are substantial amounts of pyroxenes and olivines. Together, these three mineral groups usually, but not always, make up >95% of the crystalline material in the rock and the regolith.
A study has recently shown that human neuron and lung cells exposed to simulated lunar dust experienced DNA damage and cell death, even in very small quantities. This isn't totally unexpected. Earth dust can have similar effects, toxic or not. Volcanic ash has been known to cause bronchitis and emphysema when inhaled.
Using lunar regolith simulant and heating it within a susceptor-assisted microwave oven, it was possible to manufacture a variety of basaltic glasses.
At the National Air and Space Museum in DC, you can touch a piece of the Moon. The Moon rock on display in our Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall, is one of only a few touchable lunar samples in the world.
Certainly, the Moon has a high chance of acquiring several important and rare minerals. According to satellite imaging, the top 10 cm of regolith(its soil) on south pole of the Moon has more than 100 times gold deposit when compared with the Earth's biggest mine.
How much gold is on the moon?
Satellite imaging has shown that the top 10 centimetres of regolith (moon soil) at the south pole of the moon appear to hold about 100 times more gold than the richest mines on earth. Only a few years ago, most geologists would have laughed at the idea of mining anything from our moon.
Lava flows that turned into rocks on the moon are enriched with titanium in concentrations far higher than what is found on Earth. The precious material could be used to construct equipment for lunar and other spacecraft.
You end up with distinct veins of minerals in a much larger body of rock. This has happened on the Moon: a rock type nicknamed KREEP (from potassium (K), Rare Earth Elements, and Phosphorus), which is highly enriched in incompatible elements, is widely distributed on the Moon.
Suman Debnath claims to have bought the land from International Lunar Society.
A study has recently shown that human neuron and lung cells exposed to simulated lunar dust experienced DNA damage and cell death, even in very small quantities. This isn't totally unexpected. Earth dust can have similar effects, toxic or not. Volcanic ash has been known to cause bronchitis and emphysema when inhaled.
Valuable titanium ore
Titanium on the moon is primarily found in the mineral ilmenite, a compound that contains iron, titanium and oxygen. If humans one day mine on the moon, they could break down ilmenite to separate these elements.
The moon isn't so barren after all. A 2009 NASA mission—in which a rocket slammed into the moon and a second spacecraft studied the blast—revealed that the lunar surface contains an array of compounds, including gold, silver, and mercury, according to PBS.
For centuries, astronomers debated whether water exists on Earth's closest neighbor. In 2020, data from NASA's SOFIA mission confirmed water exists in the sunlit area of the lunar surface as molecules of H2O embedded within, or perhaps sticking to the surface of, grains of lunar dust.