A chickpea flower grown in 75 per cent moon dust Picture supplied by Jessica Atkin at Texas A&M University
Chickpeas may be able to grow on the moon with the help of a fungus and some worms. Lunar soil is notoriously inhospitable to life, but the addition of a simple fungus and earthworms can allow chickpeas – and possibly other plants as well – to grow there.
Moon dust is pointy and clumpy, lacks several of the nutrients that plants need and is full of toxic contaminants that could kill off any greenery trying to grow there. Jessica Atkin at Texas…
![Small dome in the Compton-Belkovich region (61.33 ?N, 99.68 ?E). Evidence indicates a volcanic origin for this and other intriguing features in the region. Incidence angle is 64?, Sun is from the SSW, image is ~510 m across. NAC image number M139238146L [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].](https://images.newscientistbeta.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/07172644/SEI_163208069.jpg)
