The idea of astronauts enjoying a cup of tea on the Moon may not be so far-fetched after all.
A team of researchers from the University of Kent has shown that tea plants can grow in soil that mimics the conditions found on the lunar surface.
Their work offers a glimpse into how future space travelers might cultivate their own food during long missions.
The project, led by Professor Nigel Mason and Dr. Sara Lopez-Gomollon, partnered with Dartmoor Tea, Europlanet, and Lightcurve Films.
The team planted tea saplings into simulated lunar and Martian soils, comparing their growth with control plants grown in fertile Devonian soil.
Conditions such as temperature, humidity, and lighting were carefully adjusted to reflect those astronauts might encounter in space.
The results were striking. Tea plants in lunar-like soil thrived, rooting and growing just as well as the control plants in Devon soil.
By contrast, tea planted in simulated Martian soil failed to grow, highlighting the unique challenges of cultivating crops on Mars.
Students Anna-Maria Wirth and Florence Grant carried out detailed measurements of soil nutrients, pH levels, moisture, and plant health to better understand the outcomes.
The findings will be presented at the first European Space Agriculture Workshop in Bratislava, Slovakia, where scientists are gathering to discuss the future of growing food in space.
The experiment was inspired by Maarten Roos-Serote of Lightcurve Films, who had previously experimented with tea plants in Portugal to test their resilience.
Through a partnership with Dartmoor Tea, the researchers were able to use high-quality British tea plants for the Kent study.
While the main goal was to explore how plants could grow on the Moon, the project has also provided insights with applications here on Earth. Climate change and intensive farming have degraded soils worldwide, and learning how plants cope with poor or sterile soils could help farmers revive struggling land.
Professor Mason explained, “We are moving into a new age of space, where we think about people living on the Moon or Mars.
One of the first questions is, what will they eat? These experiments show that plants like tea can be cultivated in lunar soils within greenhouses, offering some self-sufficiency and even the comfort of a tea break in space.”
Dr. Lopez-Gomollon added, “Our results are very encouraging. They show that tea, a crop, can grow in lunar soil.
The next step is to understand the plant’s physiology in these conditions, so we can improve growth and expand this work to other crops. This research is not only vital for future space missions but can also help us develop more resilient crops on Earth.”
For Dartmoor Tea, the collaboration has already paid off. “Our work with Kent has improved how we grow and nurture our plants here in Devon,” said Jo Harper. “This could even benefit the wider tea industry.”
It seems the tradition of a tea break could one day extend beyond Earth—all the way to the Moon.
