WASHINGTON ¨C If the idea of lunar hummus seems far-fetched, think again. Scientists working to cultivate the field of extraterrestrial agriculture have grown chickpeas in dirt made mostly of simulated lunar soil, a step toward enabling astronauts on long-term moon missions to produce their own food.
Researchers said harvestable chickpeas were grown in soil mixtures composed primarily of ¡°moon dirt¡± modeled after lunar samples retrieved during NASA¡¯s Apollo missions more than half a century ago.
Chickpeas of a variety called ¡°Myles¡± were raised in a climate-controlled growth chamber at Texas A&M University. Seeds were coated with beneficial fungi and planted in a mix of the simulated lunar soil, made by Florida-based company Space Resource Technologies, and a nutrient-rich substance called vermicompost produced when earthworms break down organic waste.
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