After successfully managing to grow beans – an important source of nutrients for humans – with the help of silver soil, astronomers and scientists in Europe undertook a remarkable project to grow crops and try to grow agricultural products and crops. has made on the moon.
After analyzing the data about the lunar soil, it is revealed that its soil, known as regolith, contains minerals important for plant growth, but it has also been shown that nitrogen is not available in it. .
Moon soil also thickens as water is added to it, which is possible to prevent air ingress and allow roots to grow.
In the absence of nitrogen, European Space Agency (ESA) scientists have found another way to meet their goal of lunar agriculture. This is hydroponic farming in which plants grow in nutrient-rich water, making the soil sterile.
Experts from Norway’s Geotechnical Institute are on board with ESA scientists to achieve the goal of growing lunar agriculture – fulfilling the commitment to actually leave the planet.
With the help of mechanical properties, the team finalized a plan to carry out all the necessary operations required in hydroponic farming, including extracting all the minerals and nutrients from the regolith and injecting them into the garden water.
According to Malgorzata Holinska, ESA materials and processes engineer, this work lays the groundwork for future space exploration.
Holinska opined that achieving a sustainable presence beyond Earth would involve using space resources and accessing nutrients on the lunar surface that could support plant growth.
Holinska added that the current study strengthens the evidence for using regolith minerals to grow plants — and allows more scientists and experts to conduct future research on the topic.