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Radishes Can Likely Grow in Lunar Regolith - Universe Today:
“We’re trying to show astronauts can use horticulture to grow their own food on the Moon,” said NASA scientist Max Coleman. “We want to do one tiny step in that direction, to show that lunar soil contains stuff which can be extracted from it as nutrients for plants.”
They were about to start doing hands-on tests of soil sensors that might eventually be used on the Moon when the stay-at-home orders were issued. While the team wasn’t able to bring home any lunar simulant or the soil sensors, Coleman decided to innovate. He placed an order online for some desert sand, which doesn’t have any organic matter, so is a good stand-in for the lunar regolith simulant.
[...] He decided to use radish seeds, and ordered them online for home delivery, too.
[...] Also, radishes don’t require a lot of water to germinate, so they provide a good test of what could grow quickly in one lunar day, (28 days, with 14 straight days of sunlight.)
[...] The results were quite surprising: Radishes in the section with the least water germinated first and best, which was interesting because, Coleman said, “we want to see how little water we can get away with.”
The team’s research is helping them develop a small scientific payload on a commercial spacecraft going to the Moon, which, if selected, would be delivered to the lunar surface through the NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. The team planned to develop the experiment as a suitable payload for a CLPS spacecraft in terms of size, mass, power requirement, and communication needs.
(Score: 3, Funny) by MostCynical on Sunday July 26 2020, @11:53PM (4 children)
does anyone want to eat them?
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 3, Funny) by looorg on Sunday July 26 2020, @11:59PM (3 children)
No. I might even be more tempted to eat the regolith.
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Monday July 27 2020, @02:17AM (1 child)
Just make sure you bring a little mud [gotfuturama.com] to saute' them in.
(Score: 2) by looorg on Monday July 27 2020, @02:55AM
If only they were Popplers or Tasticles.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Monday July 27 2020, @06:26AM
That deserves at least a moment of semi-serious thought.
When you leave home, even here on earth, you leave behind some comforts, and you have to adapt to a new reality.
So, we send some settlers to a new world. They're going to have to adapt to new realities. If you carelessly leave a door open, you don't just run up the heating/AC bill - you've dumped all your breathable atmosphere. Likewise, you're going to have to get used to the food available. If radishes are what's available, then radishes are what you'll eat.
A lot of serious thought will have to go into what is carried out there to be cultivated. And, a lot of serious time and effort will go into that cultivation. I really doubt that there's going to be anything comparable to Wonder bread available, for a long time.
Hail to the Nibbler in Chief.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 27 2020, @12:10AM (8 children)
Radish is basically vegetable fiber and water.
Potato is a better candidate for mars. Tubers grow just about everywhere. Maybe even in Mars.
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 27 2020, @12:26AM (4 children)
No bs - or any other organic substance - in lunar regolith.
What's mars got to do with? (but a second hand emotion)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 27 2020, @12:36AM (3 children)
My bad - thought it was about mars not moon.
Still, any water on the moon? I know they have cheese and rabbits, but never heard of water on the moon.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Monday July 27 2020, @12:51AM (1 child)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 27 2020, @01:26AM
Horses, obviously.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Monday July 27 2020, @01:28AM
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_water [wikipedia.org]
Potentially a lot, at least at the poles.
Mars has a lot more obvious sources of water.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_on_Mars [wikipedia.org]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korolev_(Martian_crater) [wikipedia.org]
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1, Redundant) by NPC-131072 on Monday July 27 2020, @12:40AM
> Maybe even in Mars.
What about growing fungus in uranus?
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Monday July 27 2020, @12:45AM (1 child)
With mild diuretics in that water, helps mobilizing that kidney stones stuff [nih.gov].
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 27 2020, @03:37AM
Diuretics? Beer! Works every time! Works all night long.
(Score: 1) by anubi on Monday July 27 2020, @12:40AM (4 children)
Hydroponics.
I've made my point. This is just filler text.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: -1, Redundant) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 27 2020, @12:47AM (1 child)
There's no water on the moon, dipshit. The "hydro" in hydroponics means water.
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Monday July 27 2020, @01:56AM
As pointed out above, there's lots of water on the Moon. No need for the name calling.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Monday July 27 2020, @01:33AM
Hydroponics applied to radishes in desert sand soil.
The specific result: "radishes in the section with the least water germinated first and best".
(As a DIY-er, you should be able to appreciate the effort going into the discovery of "what works best" from the maybe many possible solutions)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday July 27 2020, @01:56AM
Thank you - I was scrolling down to find the best place to insert the word "hydroponics" into the conversation.
Hail to the Nibbler in Chief.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Zinnia Zirconium on Monday July 27 2020, @12:51AM (10 children)
Standard Soylent Response™ applies.
"You Shouldn't Do That"™
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 27 2020, @01:35AM (5 children)
Tells a lot about the intellectual age of the soylenters. Fucking dipshits think they already know.
(Score: 2, Informative) by Zinnia Zirconium on Monday July 27 2020, @01:39AM (4 children)
Yup! It's called senility.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Monday July 27 2020, @01:49AM (3 children)
Thanks, for the last couple of weeks I was trying to recall that word (grin)
(take over, Z. Bring in youngsters with enough guts to get an account, S/N is sliding into decrepitude. But then again... it's Perl, so maybe it worth letting it go)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 27 2020, @03:30AM (2 children)
Should our society collapse, the most valuable people will be the farmer and the mechanic.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 27 2020, @03:38AM (1 child)
If by mechanic you mean blacksmith.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 27 2020, @03:47AM
Unfortunately, the warriors will take over sooner or later - the job requirements don't list a high intelligence.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 27 2020, @01:39AM (3 children)
I will shove radishes up your butt. For science.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 27 2020, @01:58AM (2 children)
Then you will pull those radishes out and eat them. For lulz.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 27 2020, @03:41AM (1 child)
After inserting radishes, visit Taco Bell.
You are now equipped with military grade weaponry.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 27 2020, @06:29AM
They have Taco Bell on the moon? FFS, the neighborhood is going downhill fast!
(Score: 4, Informative) by Muad'Dave on Monday July 27 2020, @02:10PM (1 child)
Radishes are not particularly nutritious [capcofarms.com], and apparently they have a ton of sodium.
It would be interesting to see the nutrition profile of his radishes grown in essentially organic matter-free soil. I bet they're deficient in everything useful.
To get 2000 calories you'd have to eat 48 cups (11.3 liters, 3 gallons) of radishes per day. That'll also get you 24g of potassium and a whopping 56.8 grams of sodium - that's 24x the recommended limit.
(Score: 2) by Taibhsear on Saturday August 01 2020, @01:55PM
Wonder if that could lead to a way to possibly desalinate soil or water...