Moon farming may be possible thanks to Texas scientist
'If we could figure out how to establish a permanent presence on the moon, that's going to help us explore further into the universe,' said Jess Atkin, a Ph.D. student at Texas A&M.
Atkin, recently retired from the U.S. Air Force, is focusing on turning moon dust, also called regolith, into soil that astronauts could use to grow crops.
Moon dust isn't great for crops. It lacks key nutrients that plants rely on and is devoid of nitrogen.
'All plants need nitrogen. It's one of the most limiting nutrients that plants have,' said Amelia Wolf, an assistant professor in Integrative Biology at the University of Texas in Austin.
Wolf said that Earth's soil contains tiny microbes and little life forms that make farming possible. Plants rely on these microbes to bloom. Soil also differs around the world, with some soil better for crops than others.
'Different plants have different needs. Some plants really like to grow in kind of rich, fertile soil. Some plants, like desert plants, grow in very sandy soil,' Wolf said.
Moon dust isn't great for any plants. That's where Atkin's work comes in. She is using a simulated regolith, made in a lab here on Earth, to test out how different fungi can bring life to dust and turn it into soil.
'We've seen that through generations, our fungi and bacteria are able to survive the harshness of the lunar regolith simulant. So we would only need to pack, you know, one small package (of the seeds coated with the fungi),' Atkin said.
Atkin is also focusing on the crop. 'I chose chickpea because it's able to form relationships with microorganisms, and it actually actively recruits these relationships.'
Chickpeas also can provide protein to astronauts. The downside is they take a while to grow and produce more seeds, but this also proves that plants can grow over a long term in the soil.
'Our hope is by the end of this to have it turned into a lunar soil,' Atkin said.
The work is still in the early stages. NASA has provided a $150-thousand NASA Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology grant. The grant secures Atkin's work for three years.
A recent internship with NASA will see some of her research into plant systems arrive on the moon as part of human's return to the moon aboard Artemis III.
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21 minutes ago
- The Verge
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an hour ago
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While many of the first NSF Engines cohort members were anchored in metro regions such as Tempe, Arizona and Orlando, Florida, the second cohort of applicants comprise many rural and rural-serving proposals which seek NSF Engines funding to help their regions benefit from the innovation economy. Arjun Sanga, president of WiSys, a non-profit economic development organization based in Madison, Wisconsin, is a lead of one of the proposals selected as an NSF Engines semifinalists. Their NSF Engine proposal, Forward Agriculture, would position Wisconsin as a national leader in the circular bioeconomy with a focus on strengthening the state's agricultural industry. 'We are the Dairy State, and agriculture is central to Wisconsin's economy. We must innovate and find new areas to support the farming industry, to make sure the people who feed us can stay in business as there continues to be incredible pressure on farmers across the country," Sanga shared in an email statement. 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