Jessica Atkin, a graduate student in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University, grew the first-ever chickpea planted with moon dust out of her love of space exploration.
Jessica Atkin, a graduate student in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences at Texas A&M University, was able to grow the first chickpea seeds in a 75 percent simulated moondust mixture.
Since there isn't enough lunar regolith on Earth for experiments, Atkin and her colleagues used simulated moon dust to grow chickpeas in a mixture of up to 75 percent moon dust, which was groundbreaking in several ways.
According to her findings, future astronauts traveling to the moon may have the opportunity to replace some of their prepackaged food with protein extracted from crops grown on the moon's surface.
The moon does not have soil like the Earth," Atkin said. "On Earth, soil contains organic matter full of nutrients and microorganisms that support plant growth. And on the moon these are missing. This adds to other challenges, such as the reduction of gravity, radiation, and toxic elements. ”
To help address some of these challenges, Atkin has been developing a soil amendment to improve the structure and nutrient content of lunar dust and make it suitable for growing crops.
Atkin collaborated on the project with Sarah Oliveira Santos, a PhD student at Brown University, who contributed expertise in solving hydrological problems caused by the small particle size of moon dust.
Atkin has been conducting this research under the guidance of her advisors, Dr. Terry Gentry, a soil and water microbiologist in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, and Dr. Betsy Pierson, a plant microbiologist. Interaction with the Department of Horticultural Sciences. The study was also contributed by Dr. George Vandermark, a U.S. Department of Agriculture legume breeder and faculty member at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington.
Atkin harnesses the Earth's soil regeneration mechanisms, using the interaction between beneficial soil fungi and earthworm compost or worm droppings to create fertile moon dust. These improvements help to isolate toxic contaminants from dust, alter soil structure for better hydraulic properties, and improve plant tolerance to stressors and toxins.
Three main actions can help fungi solve the problem of elemental contamination. First, the toxins are sequestered and bound in the soil mixture, making it difficult for plants to absorb. This prevents contaminants from being absorbed by plant roots. If a toxin passes, the fungus traps it in its own biomass and the biomass of the plant's roots, limiting the amount of toxin absorbed by the plant and seeds.
Earthworm compost is used to provide nutrients and change the physical properties of the composition of lunar dust. Red worms can be taken to the moon, where they can break down biological waste produced by astronauts, such as clothing, hygiene products and food scraps, Atkin said.
Atkin says she chose chickpeas because they are legumes that form a beneficial relationship with the fungus.
They are a great protein** and use less water and nitrogen than other food crops," she said. "We used the DESI chickpea variety to address the spatial constraints within the habitat. ”
Using these techniques, Atkin has successfully grown chickpeas in up to 75% of the lunar regolith simulacrum, the first of its kind. However, she points to a caveat: while chickpeas typically take about 100 days to mature on Earth, in the lunar mixture, they take 120 days to mature, and all plants exhibit symptoms of stress.
Atkin said she will continue to study the multigenerational effect and believes that once the soil matrix is transformed, it may lead to the ability to grow other crops.
While there are many variables, Atkin said it could be the solution to reduce waste in the long term as well as be sustainable for moon travel and exploration.
The novelty of using earthworm farming is that it can all be done in space, whether on the space station or on the moon, reducing the need for resupply missions," she said.
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