Humankind’s experience visiting worlds beyond our own begins and
ends with the dozen Apollo astronauts who skipped about on tiny
swaths of the moon. But that doesn’t mean we can’t experiment
with how and where we might visit (or live) on the extreme
surfaces of other worlds. A few studies out recently are doing
just that. Radiation? Big deal Our planet provides a protective
shield from the most damaging radiation produced by the sun—a
shield not available on the moon or Mars. It’s a hazard for any
human leaving the planet, and it’s a hazard for plants, too.
However, a new study of the Chernobyl area in the Ukraine, site
of the famous nuclear accident, is actually raising hopes for
space farming. Even 25 years after the catastrophic nuclear
accident at Chernobyl, the area around the site harbors
radioactive soil. But researchers working there have found that
oil-rich flax plants can adapt and flourish in that fouled
environment with few problems. Exactly how the flax adapted
remains unclear, but what is clear