Plants on the Moon

November 2013

Plants on the Moon

Link: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2013/11/25/nasa-plans-to-grow-first-plants-on-the-moon/#.UpkxIcRDtsJ

     NASA is teaming up with students and private space companies to grow the first plants on the moon’s surface starting in 2015. This self-contained Lunar Plant Growth Habitat will be similar to a "glorified coffee can" and will hold enough water, nutrients, and air to grow 1

0 turnip seeds, 10 basil seeds, and 100 arabidopsis seeds.

     "The experiment will test whether plants can survive radiation, flourish in partial gravity, and thrive in a small, controlled environment – the same obstacles that we will need to overcome in order to build a greenhouse on the Moon, or create life on Mars." If the seeds grow fruitfully, they will be the first Earth plant life sent to another terrestrial body.

     The article discusses how the "Lunar Greenhouse" will be built, and in order to test them, the team plans to send additional cans to classrooms across the country to see how the aluminum greenhouses perform in 'normal' terrestrial conditions. The article also explains what will theoretically happen once the mini-greenhouse is on the moon.

     The current price of this overall experiment is at a mere $2 million, due to the plan to hitchhike on the robotic spacecraft of whichever private company wins the Google Lunar X Prize, saving millions of dollars in travel costs.