Originally, the stadium's surface was a Tifway 419 Bermuda grass, specifically bred for indoor use.
The dome's ceiling contained thousands of semitransparent panes made of Lucite.
Players quickly complained that glare coming off of the panes made it hard for them to track fly balls; to solve the problem, two sections of panes were painted white in April.
However, within a few months, the grass died from lack of sunlight.
For most of the 1965 season, the Astros played on green-painted dirt and dead grass.
The clear panels also added a problem when combined with the natural grass.
The grass tended to hold, then release moisture, often resulting in rain within the structure, causing games to be delayed while the grounds crews cleaned up the playing surface.

The solution was to install a new type of artificial grass on the field, ChemGrass, which became known as AstroTurf, named after the stadium.
Because the supply of AstroTurf was still low, only a limited amount was available at the start of the 1966 season.
There was not enough for the entire outfield, so the first phase covered only the traditional grass portion of the infield and foul territory, at a cost of $2 per square foot.
It was installed in time to test out during exhibition games against the Dodgers in March.
The outfield remained painted dirt until after the All-Star Game.
The Astros completed a seven-game home stand on Wednesday, July 6, then went on a road trip on both sides of the All-Star break.
The installation of the outfield portion of AstroTurf was completed for the three-game series with the Phillies starting on Tuesday, July 19, thus covering the entire field with AstroTurf.
Groundskeepers dressed as astronauts kept the turf clean with vacuum cleaners between innings.
The infield dirt remained in the traditional design, with a large dirt arc, similar to natural grass fields.

In 1973, the Astros installed an all-AstroTurf infield, except for dirt cutouts around the bases.
This "sliding pit" configuration was introduced by Cincinnati with the opening of Riverfront Stadium on June 30, 1970.
It was then installed in the new stadiums in Philadelphia in 1971, and Kansas City in 1973.
The artificial turf fields of Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and San Francisco, all installed in 1970, were traditionally configured like the Astrodome and later changed to sliding pits.
San Francisco converted in 1971, Pittsburgh in 1973, and St. Louis in 1978.
Rogers Centre in Toronto was the last park in the majors that had sliding pits; it opened in 1989 and switched to a traditional dirt skin infield in 2016.

Throughout its history, the Astrodome was known as a pitcher's park.
The power alleys were never shorter than 370 feet (113 m) from the plate; on at least two occasions they were as far as 390 feet (119 m).
Over time, it gave up fewer home runs than any other park in the National League.
The Astrodome's reputation as a pitcher's park continued even in the mid-1980s, when the fences were moved in closer than the Metrodome, which was long reckoned as a hitter's park.
Originally, the stadium's surface was a Tifway 419 Bermuda grass, specifically bred for indoor use. The dome's ceiling contained thousands of semitransparent panes made of Lucite. Players quickly complained that glare coming off of the panes made it hard for them to track fly balls; to solve the problem, two sections of panes were painted white in April. However, within a few months, the grass died from lack of sunlight. For most of the 1965 season, the Astros played on green-painted dirt and dead grass. The clear panels also added a problem when combined with the natural grass. The grass tended to hold, then release moisture, often resulting in rain within the structure, causing games to be delayed while the grounds crews cleaned up the playing surface.
The solution was to install a new type of artificial grass on the field, ChemGrass, which became known as AstroTurf, named after the stadium. Because the supply of AstroTurf was still low, only a limited amount was available at the start of the 1966 season. There was not enough for the entire outfield, so the first phase covered only the traditional grass portion of the infield and foul territory, at a cost of $2 per square foot. It was installed in time to test out during exhibition games against the Dodgers in March. The outfield remained painted dirt until after the All-Star Game. The Astros completed a seven-game home stand on Wednesday, July 6, then went on a road trip on both sides of the All-Star break. The installation of the outfield portion of AstroTurf was completed for the three-game series with the Phillies starting on Tuesday, July 19, thus covering the entire field with AstroTurf. Groundskeepers dressed as astronauts kept the turf clean with vacuum cleaners between innings. The infield dirt remained in the traditional design, with a large dirt arc, similar to natural grass fields.
In 1973, the Astros installed an all-AstroTurf infield, except for dirt cutouts around the bases. This "sliding pit" configuration was introduced by Cincinnati with the opening of Riverfront Stadium on June 30, 1970. It was then installed in the new stadiums in Philadelphia in 1971, and Kansas City in 1973. The artificial turf fields of Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and San Francisco, all installed in 1970, were traditionally configured like the Astrodome and later changed to sliding pits. San Francisco converted in 1971, Pittsburgh in 1973, and St. Louis in 1978. Rogers Centre in Toronto was the last park in the majors that had sliding pits; it opened in 1989 and switched to a traditional dirt skin infield in 2016.
Throughout its history, the Astrodome was known as a pitcher's park. The power alleys were never shorter than 370 feet (113 m) from the plate; on at least two occasions they were as far as 390 feet (119 m). Over time, it gave up fewer home runs than any other park in the National League. The Astrodome's reputation as a pitcher's park continued even in the mid-1980s, when the fences were moved in closer than the Metrodome, which was long reckoned as a hitter's park.
Astrodome