Astronauts might one day dine on salad grown in asteroid soil. Romaine lettuce, chili pepper and pink radish plants all grew in mixtures of peat moss and faux asteroid soil, researchers report in the July Planetary Science Journal. Scientists have previously grown crops in lunar dirt(SN: 5/23/22). But the new study focuses on “carbonaceous contrite known to be rich in volatile sources — water especially,” says astroecologies Sherry Fieber Beyer of the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. These meteorites, and their parent asteroids, are also rich in nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus key agricultural nutrients. Pulverizing these types of asteroids, perhaps as part of space mining efforts, could potentially provide a ready supply of farming material in space. Fieber Beyer purchased a material that mimics the space rocks’ composition and gave it to her graduate student Steven Russell. I said, ‘All right, grow me some plants. Russell, now an astrobiologies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, chose a type of radish, lettuce and chili pepper all of which have grown aboard the International Space Station. He, Fieber-Beyer and their colleague Kathryn Yurkonis, also of the University of North Dakota, compared how the plants grew in only faux asteroid soil, only peat moss and various mixes of the two. Peat moss keeps soil loose and improves water retention. In all mixtures with peat moss, the plants grew. Faux asteroid soil on its own, however, compacted and couldn’t retain water, and so plants couldn’t grow. Next, Fieber-Beyer will try growing hairy vetch seeds in that faux asteroid dirt, let the plants decay and then mix the dead plant matter throughout the soil. That, she says, could ensure that the soil doesn’t compact. Plus, Seeds weigh a lot less than peat moss, making them easier to carry to space to help with any future farming attempts. Astronauts might one day dine on salad grown in asteroid soil. Romaine lettuce, chili pepper and pink radish plants all grew in mixtures of peat moss and faux asteroid soil, researchers report in the July Planetary Science Journal. Scientists have previously grown crops in lunar dirt. Scientists have previously grown crops in lunar dirt (SN: 5/23/22). But the new study focuses on “carbonaceous contrite meteorites, known to be rich in volatile sources water especially,” says astroecologist Sherry Fieber-Beyer of the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. These meteorites, and their parent asteroids, are also rich in nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus — key agricultural nutrients. Pulverizing these types of asteroids, perhaps as part of space mining efforts, could potentially provide a ready supply of farming material in space. Romaine lettuce, chili pepper and pink radish plants all grew in mixtures of peat moss and faux asteroid soil, researchers report in the July Planetary Science Journal. Astronauts might one day dine on salad grown in asteroid soil. Fieber-Beyer purchased a material that mimics the space rocks’ composition and gave it to her graduate student Steven Russell. “I said, ‘All right, grow me some plants. Peat moss keeps soil loose and improves water retention. In all mixtures with peat moss, the plants grew. Faux asteroid soil on its own, however, compacted and couldn’t retain water, and so plants couldn’t grow. seeds weigh a lot less than peat moss, making them easier to carry to space to help with any future farming attempts.
You must be logged in to post a comment.