by 
TYLER JONES, IFAS/UF
Thale cress plants grown for 16 days in volcanic material from Earth (left) looked starkly different compared with seedlings nourished in moon dirt (right).
Plants potted in samples returned by the Apollo 11 mission (right, top) fared worse than those planted in Apollo 12 samples (right, middle) or Apollo 17 samples (right, bottom).
That’s one small stem for a plant, one giant leap for plant science.
In a tiny, lab-grown garden, the first seeds ever sown in lunar dirt have sprouted.
This small crop, planted in samples returned by Apollo missions, offers hope that astronauts could someday grow their own food on the moon.
Source
