Scientists grow 1st plants in lunar soil
More than 50 years after astronauts brought the last moon-rock samples to Earth, scientists have successfully grown plants in lunar soil from three Apollo missions for the first time. -soil plants grew slowly and relatively poorly, but those grown in samples that had been more exposed on the lunar surface tended to do the worst, and genetic analysis showed changes indicative of stress.
"The ability to take plants successfully with us to the moon is… how we'll grow our own food [and] how we'll stay there for a while without resupply," Robert Ferl, a professor of horticultural sciences at the University of Florida and an author of the study, said in a virtual news conference held on Wednesday .
"The fragments are actually quite sharp and angular," Stephen Elardo, a geologist at the University of Florida and an author of the study, said in the news conference. The lunar soil also contains bits of metallic iron, and the glass fragments trap pockets of gasses, which volcanic ash doesn’t fully replicate.in all three samples. The plants fared the worst in the Apollo 11 soil, which was the most"mature," meaning the soil had been the most exposed to the lunar surface.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
China's Mars rover Zhurong is hunkering down for its 1st Red Planet winterAndrew is a freelance space journalist with a focus on reporting on China's rapidly growing space sector. He began writing for Space.com in 2019 and writes for SpaceNews, IEEE Spectrum, National Geographic, Sky & Telescope, New Scientist and others. Andrew first caught the space bug when, as a youngster, he saw Voyager images of other worlds in our solar system for the first time. Away from space, Andrew enjoys trail running in the forests of Finland. You can follow him on Twitter AJ_FI.
Read more »
North Korea raises alarm after confirming 1st COVID-19 caseSEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea announced its first coronavirus infection more than two years into the pandemic Thursday as leader Kim Jong Un called for raising COVID-19 preventive measures to maximum levels.
Read more »
North Korea Raises Alarm After Confirming 1st COVID-19 CaseNorth Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for his country to raise its COVID-19 preventive measures to maximum levels as the country announced its first coronavirus infection more than two years into the pandemic. The Korean Central News Agency said Thursday tests from an unspecified number of people in capital Pyongyang confirmed they were infected with the omicron variant. North Korea had claimed a perfect record in keeping out COVID-19 from its territory, though outside experts had doubted that. It had only begun to reopen its border slightly after being closed for two years.
Read more »
Clarence Dixon dies in Arizona's 1st execution since 2014An Arizona man convicted of killing a college student in 1978 has been executed after a nearly eight-year hiatus in the state’s use of the death penalty brought on by a previous execution critics say was botched and difficulty that officials faced in sourcing lethal injection drugs.
Read more »