An Esa-linked team has grown Marigold flowers in crushed rock very similar to the lunar surface, without the use of any plant food. Many hold growing plants on the Moon as an indication that there is possibility of humans dwelling there. But the theory is not an official objective of Esa. Infact, one of this agency’s senior official has rejected the idea as ‘science fiction’. This latest research was put forward before the European Geosciences Union (EGU) meeting in Vienna.

 

The EGU happens to be the biggest yearly congregation of European scientists studying the planet Earth, its climate and neighbors in space. Bernard Foing, who is a scientist with the European Space Research and Technology Centre (Estec) in the Netherlands, thinks that growing plants on the Moon will prove to be a useful tool to understand how life acclimatizes to lunar conditions. This inturn will act as a practical aid for setting up manned bases.