Engoo.com reported that a NASA-supported study at the University of Florida used soil collected by astronauts — including Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin — to grow thale cress, a common type of weed.  Soil from Apollo missions 11, 12 and 17 was used to grow the plants in a laboratory — with less than 1 gram of soil for each plant.  To compare results, plants were also grown in Earth soil that was made to be like moon soil.

The researchers added water and then seeds to the soil, as well as daily nutrients. After just two days, the seeds started to grow.  According to Professor Anna-Lisa Paul at the University of Florida, all the plants looked the same until about day six. After day six, however, it was clear that the plants growing in moon soil were not as healthy.

DNA testing after 20 days showed that the moon soil plants were under stress.

It was also found that the plants grew in different ways in soil from different parts of the moon. The soil collected during the Apollo 11 mission had been on the moon's surface several billion years longer than the other soil, and the plants grown in it were the weakest.

ALSO READ: Weird Wide Web - Doorway on Mars?

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson believes this research will help future space missions, saying that resources on the moon and Mars will be needed to develop food for astronauts living and working in space.

In 2025, NASA hopes to send people to the moon.  Read more on this story by clicking here.