Overview
- University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M scientists grew and harvested chickpeas in lab mixtures of simulated lunar regolith and vermicompost, as detailed March 5 in Scientific Reports.
- Plants produced seeds in substrates containing up to 75% regolith simulant, whereas 100% simulant plants failed to flower and died early.
- Seeds were coated with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi that colonized roots in the simulant, extended stressed plants’ lifespans, improved nutrient access, and limited heavy‑metal uptake.
- The harvested seeds are undergoing analyses for metal accumulation and nutritional content, so the team has not deemed them safe to eat, with follow‑up work supported by a NASA FINESST grant.
- The experiments used Exolith/Space Resource Technologies simulants in controlled growth chambers, and the researchers are now assessing multi‑generation viability and planning trials that better reflect authentic lunar conditions.