Inside the remarkable plan to GROW food on the Moon with astro-farmers and robots

European scientists have drawn up an ingenious plan to grow food on the Moon, and make humans a multi-planetary species. Lunar soil also compacts when watered, which can suffocate and stunt root growth and plant germination. But scientists at the European Space Agency (ESA) have a clever trick to grow plants outside lunar soil. “Achieving a sustainable presence on the Moon will involve using local resources and gaining access to nutrients present in lunar regolith with the potential to help cultivate plants. "The current study represents a proof of principle using available lunar regolith simulants, opening the way to more detailed research in future.”