Scientists Take, Giant First Step , Toward Lunar Farming.br 'Time' reports that NASA's Artemis program br aims to return American astronauts to the br moon and establish permanent lunar bases.br 'Time' reports that NASA's Artemis program br aims to return American astronauts to the br moon and establish permanent lunar bases.br This means they must use the moon's soil, br referred to as regolith, as a medium br to grow crops in lunar greenhouses.br With NASA prepping themselves br to go back to the moon for longer excursions, br it became much more relevant that we br understand how resources that are in situ on br the moon can be used to further exploration, Anna-Lisa Paul, horticulturist br and lead author of the paper, via 'Time'.br According to a new study published br in 'Communications Biology,' scientists have br successfully grown crops in lunar soil for the first time.br The research was carried out br at the University of Florida by a team br of two horticulturalists and one geologist. .br The plants grown in lunar soil were smaller br and developed more slowly than control plants br grown in terrestrial volcanic soil.br The results led the team to suggest that br the age of the soil plays a crucial role br in determining the success of crops.br What we found was that the regoliths br that were more mature were indeed br more toxic to the plants, or at least they br presented a more toxic response, Anna-Lisa Paul, horticulturist br and lead author of the paper, via 'Time'.