Results of Apollo 11 and 12 Quarantine Studies on Plants

Walkinshaw, Charles H.; Sweet, Haven C.; Venketeswaran, S.; Horne, W. H.

doi:10.2307/1295365

Cited by 30 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…The first studies of plant growth on Lunar regolith were conducted in the early 70s in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory, where small amounts of real Lunar materials (brought from the Moon by the Apollo missions) were mixed with growth media (such as wood pulp product) stabilized with acrylonitrile resin (Walkinshaw et al, 1970;Walkinshaw and Johnson, 1971;. These studies were designed to determine whether Lunar materials contained any agents capable of generating an epiphytotic disease in representative species of the plant kingdom.…”

Section: Apollo-era Plant Experiments With Lunar Samplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The main parameters monitored were seed germination capacity, growth alteration, phytotoxicity, and disease incidence. Walkinshaw et al (1970) grew 35 representative plant species in aseptic conditions in different cultivation systems, including algae, seeds, spores, seedlings, gametophytes, and tissue cultures of higher plants. The authors noted the absence of disease agents in the plants tested under experimental conditions, and concluded that the Lunar material could potentially support the growth of a wide range of plant species.…”

Section: Apollo-era Plant Experiments With Lunar Samplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Based on the findings of Walkinshaw et al (1970), researchers further investigated the effect of the Lunar material on tobacco plants in terms of their constituent biomolecules and secondary metabolites. A tissue culture experiment over a period of 12 weeks used the Lunar material recovered from Walkinshaw's experiment, which was washed and sterilized before the trial.…”

Section: Apollo-era Plant Experiments With Lunar Samplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Potential for Lunar and Martian Regolith Simulants to Sustain Plant Growth: A Multidisciplinary Overview

Duri

Caporale

Rouphael

et al. 2022

Front. Astron. Space Sci.

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Bioregenerative life support systems (BLSS) are conceived of and developed so as to provide food sources for crewed missions to the Moon or Mars. The in situ resource utilization (ISRU) approach aims to reduce terrestrial input into a BLSS by using native regoliths and recycled organic waste as primary resources. The combination of BLSS and ISRU may allow sustainable food production on Moon and Mars. This task poses several challenges, including the effects of partial gravity, the limited availability of oxygen and water, and the self-sustaining management of resources. Lunar and Martian regoliths are not available on Earth; therefore, space research studies are conducted on regolith simulants that replicate the physicochemical properties of extra-terrestrial regoliths (as assessed in situ by previous missions). This review provides an overview of the physicochemical properties and mineralogical composition of commercially available Lunar and Martian regolith simulants. Subsequently, it describes potential strategies and sustainable practices for creating regolith simulants akin to terrestrial soil, which is a highly dynamic environment where microbiota and humified organic matter interact with the mineral moiety. These strategies include the amendment of simulants with composted organic wastes, which can turn nutrient-poor and alkaline crushed rocks into efficient life-sustaining substrates equipped with enhanced physical, hydraulic, and chemical properties. In this regard, we provide a comprehensive analysis of recent scientific works focusing on the exploitation of regolith simulant-based substrates as plant growth media. The literature discussion helps identify the main critical aspects and future challenges related to sustainable space farming by the in situ use and enhancement of Lunar and Martian resources.

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Section: Apollo-era Plant Experiments With Lunar Samplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Apollo-era Plant Experiments With Lunar Samplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Apollo-era Plant Experiments With Lunar Samplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The Potential for Lunar and Martian Regolith Simulants to Sustain Plant Growth: A Multidisciplinary Overview

Duri

Caporale

Rouphael

et al. 2022

Front. Astron. Space Sci.

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“…Complex accumulations of membranes consisting of vesicles, tubular structures or fibrous substances may develop within secondary vacuoles. Mahlberg et al () investigated the folding of the plasma membrane and measured the membrane width of various organelles and cytomembranes; the results supported an interpretation that the contents of these accumulations pinch off into the interior of the secondary vacuole by endocytosis (Walkinshaw et al , Mahlberg et al ). Secondary vacuoles were also detected in the development of A. fistulosum leaves.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Leaf‐shape remodeling: programmed cell death in fistular leaves of Allium fistulosum

Zhou

et al. 2014

Physiologia Plantarum

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Some species of Allium in Liliaceae have fistular leaves. The fistular lamina of Allium fistulosum undergoes a process from solid to hollow during development. The aims were to reveal the process of fistular leaf formation involved in programmed cell death (PCD) and to compare the cytological events in the execution of cell death to those in the unusual leaf perforations or plant aerenchyma formation. In this study, light and transmission electron microscopy were used to characterize the development of fistular leaves and cytological events. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assays and gel electrophoresis were used to determine nuclear DNA cleavage during the PCD. The cavity arises in the leaf blade by degradation of specialized cells, the designated pre-cavity cells, in the center of the leaves. Nuclei of cells within the pre-cavity site become TUNEL-positive, indicating that DNA cleavage is an early event. Gel electrophoresis revealed that DNA internucleosomal cleavage occurred resulting in a characteristic DNA ladder. Ultrastructural analysis of cells at the different stages showed disrupted vacuoles, misshapen nuclei with condensed chromatin, degraded cytoplasm and organelles and emergence of secondary vacuoles. The cell walls degraded last, and residue of degraded cell walls aggregated together. These results revealed that PCD plays a critical role in the development of A. fistulosum fistular leaves. The continuous cavity in A. fistulosum leaves resemble the aerenchyma in the pith of some gramineous plants to improve gas exchange.

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“…Lundegardh et al (16) have studied the absorption of chloride salts of the rare earth elements. More recently the botanical quarantine studies of the Apollo Moon Missions demonstrated biological effects of lunar soil (26). Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) and corn (Zea mays L.) were reported to show increased vigor with prominent root development noted for corn.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid Growth Responses of Avena Coleoptile Segments to Lanthanum and Other Cations

Harmet¹

1979

Plant Physiol.

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The rapid growth responses of oat (var. Victory) coleoptile segments treated with mr concentrations of the chlorides of La3+, Ca2+, K , and NH4+, respectively, have been measured. La`+ and Ca2+ initially depressed the endogenous elongation rate. In the case of La3+ a loknged stimulatory effect on the rate of elongation was produced by concentrations of 50 miflimolar down to 20 micromolar after an initial depression of elongation rate. The effect of K+ was slightiy stimulatory and showed a synergistic effect in combination with La3+. NH4+ produced an immediate rapid increase in elongation rate. La+ did not behave as a "super calcium" in its action upon the spontaneous growth response. The prolonged elongation of the LaU3-treated segments exhibiting the spontaneous growth response is apparently a newly observed effect. These rapid growth responses are interpreted as an interaction between anionic lipi-protein complexes in the plasmalemma and the respective ions. (8,27). MATERIALS AND METHODSUniform coleoptiles of A vena sativa L. var. Victory were grown as previously described (27). The seed oats were obtained from Svalof, Sweden. The harvest, cutting, and mounting of the coleoptile segments were conducted in dim green light. A 1-cm segment was cut 3 to 4 mm from the tip of each coleoptile. The coleoptiles were selected in pairs to ensure the greatest possible uniformity of biological material. Five of the segments, one ofeach pair selected, were threaded on a 0.30-mm-diameter plastic monofilament. Each of the filaments was placed in a high resolution growth-recording device similar to those described by Evans and Ray (7)

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Results of Apollo 11 and 12 Quarantine Studies on Plants

Cited by 30 publications

References 14 publications

The Potential for Lunar and Martian Regolith Simulants to Sustain Plant Growth: A Multidisciplinary Overview

The Potential for Lunar and Martian Regolith Simulants to Sustain Plant Growth: A Multidisciplinary Overview

Leaf‐shape remodeling: programmed cell death in fistular leaves of Allium fistulosum

Rapid Growth Responses of Avena Coleoptile Segments to Lanthanum and Other Cations

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