Question

Can you tell me some vegetable grow experiments on lunar rocks or martian simulant soil

Your question is a good one-in regards to possible future colonization issues, but more importantly in regard to the question of whether life is likely to exist elsewhere beyond Earth. Of course if you plant a terrestrial “macrophyte,” e.g., wheat, on Mars it will die due to the lack of water, high radiation, and lack of an atmosphere. A more general and interesting question though is; "Could the Martian, Lunar, or meteoritic "soil" support life under favorable conditions? For example, if life were to exist below the surface of Mars, where water may be present, and where the organisms would be shielded from radiation, could life exist and grow? There have been several studies which have shown that in fact many space materials, and simulants of these materials, can support life; - mostly microbial life, but to some extent also higher forms of plant life. These experiments were typically done under favorable Earthly conditions of temperature and atmosphere. For example, extracts from the Murchison meteorite (so named because it feel near the small town of Murchison, in Australia) have been reported to support various soil microorganisms such as the oligotrophs Flavobacterium oryzihabitans and Nocardia asteroides. Oligotrophs are organisms that can live under low-nutrient conditions. Other experiments have found that these materials can support the anaerobic thermophile eubacterium Thermotoga maritima and the aerobic thermophile Thermus aquaticus. Similar results have been obtained with Lunar and Martian simulants. That these samples can support life may not be too surprising since the mineral and organic constituents of these samples are similar to terrestrial rocks. So while it is very unlikely that we be harvesting food from Mars or the Moon any time soon, these studies do suggest that some forms of life may be out there, waiting to be discovered; and to contribute their secrets to our understanding of Life in the Universe. If you're interested in more technical information about Planetary Bioresources and "Astroecology" go to: http://www.idealibrary.com/links/doi/10.1006/icar.2002.6841/pdf Ed Goolish, Sponsored Programs Manager, NAI
October 11, 2002