Why radishes? The scientist easily explains his choice: this species has been used in space before, and the seeds
Previously, other researchers sent radishes toInternational Space Station, and now Coleman and his colleagues hope to help astronauts who will eventually grow their own food on the lunar surface.
A team of 13 people is trying to simulate -physically and chemically - lunar surface soil or regolith here on Earth. All the details are taken into account: how quickly water is absorbed between the grains of the lunar soil, how large the particles are and what the proportions of minerals are.
Coleman and his team spent over a yearconducting research at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, and were about to begin practical testing of sensors that could eventually be used on the moon. Coronavirus restrictions interrupted these plans.
In April, during an online meeting ColemanI came up with the idea of creating a laboratory for the production of home-made radishes. The team discussed how to hypothetically try to grow radishes without nutrients, as well as with few nutrients.
Coleman proposed not to build theories, but to go topractice. And before the virtual meeting was over, he bought a batch of radish seeds online to deliver home. Later, the scientist acquired sand to simulate the desert, which is often sold as a top coat to decorate indoor plants in pots.
Armed with radish seeds and sand, Coleman was ready for serious business.
We're trying to show what astronauts can douse gardening to grow your own food on the moon. We want to take one tiny step in this direction to show that lunar soil contains substances that can be extracted from it as plant nutrients. This involves getting the right chemical elements to allow plants to produce chlorophyll and grow cell walls.
Max Coleman, NASA scientist, author of the experiment
Since the moon is always facing the earth when itrotates around our planet every month, then rotates around its axis once. The lunar timeline (one lunar day equals 28 Earth days, 14 days of daylight) makes fast growing radishes a good choice for relatively quick experimental results. It will be possible to complete the experiment on one lunar day, starting immediately after dawn.
Coleman began his first experiment with radishes,by cutting paper towels into small squares, adding water and placing them in a container. Then he buried three radish seeds at a depth of half an inch. Only one sprout emerged - presumably the one that somehow got enough oxygen to germinate. Once the sand arrived, Coleman dropped the paper towels and started using it.
He placed different amounts of water into fourcontainer sections. Result: the radishes in the section with the least amount of water sprouted first and better. This immediately affected how scientists would conduct the experiment with water and lunar soil if they obtained it.
At some point, he added "electrodes"kitchen counter to measure moisture levels and track evaporation in sand: I folded aluminum foil four or five times to make a strip, and then using my battery tester I measured the electrical resistance from the water.
The group's research aims to usebiological resources in place to solve problems such as "where to get food" rather than "how to get water and oxygen." Coleman explains that it is important for future astronauts to use what is, and not "take as much as possible with you."
If the experiment goes to the moon, it will complement the plant precursors tested in microgravity on the space station. Also, the development will help astronauts on missions to the moon.
We can't test properly here on Earth with perfect lunar soil, but we do as much as we can here. Then we want to show that this will actually work on the Moon.
Max Coleman, NASA scientist, author of the experiment
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