NASA has revealed details about its Lunar Plant Growth Habitat project, which aims to plant basil, flowers and turnips on the moon, by late 2015.
Neil Armstrong took a giant leap forward for mankind when he landed on the moon. Now, the U.S. space agency NASA is looking to build on this step with its latest Lunar Plant Growth Habitat project. NASA hopes to plant basil, flowers and turnips on the moon by late 2015, according to a press release.
"We are constructing a small technology demonstration unit to study germination of plants in lunar gravity and radiation on the moon," said NASA in a statement on the project's website. "This will be the first life-sciences experiment on another world."
Ever since water was discovered on the moon, researchers have been eager to explore if the lunar surface can be colonized. One way of determining whether this is possible or not is to send seedlings up to the moon to see if they thrive there. Seedlings are very sensitive to environment conditions and if they manage to survive on the moon, it will provide scientists with some hope that life is feasible on the crater.
So how does the space agency plan on going about this project? Hitch-hiking of course! After Google announced the launch of its Google Lunar X-Prize in 2015, commercial spacecraft companies have designed special machines offering a ride to the lunar body in the near future. The company that bags the prize will be awarded $40 million in cash, provided they land successfully on the moon.
The concept underlying the project is to develop a simple sealed chamber that can support germination over a 5-10 day period in a spacecraft on the Moon. NASA is currently constructing a small technology demonstration unit to study germination of plants in lunar gravity and radiation on the moon. After landing on the moon in 2015, the seeds in the module will be watered and scientists will observe their germination for 5 to 10 days. Their growth process will be compared to seeds' grown on Earth.
This is the first live science project scientists are conducting in another world and is also the first step in utilizing plants to support human life elsewhere. If scientists are successful, they will continue the project by improving technology and include advance plant seeds in the module. Currently, only seeds of Arabidopsis, basil, and turnips are being used.
Earlier, NASA announced that it was looking to team up with Moon Express for this project. Moon Express is one of the companies competing for the Google Lunar X-Prize. However, the company's CEO said that the deal hasn't been finalized as yet.
"Because it's a NASA payload, any organization with the recognized commitment and ability to reach the lunar surface will have a chance to fly the 'LP-X' Lunar Plant experiment," he said in a statement published on Prize's official website. "But, of course, we hope it flies with Moon Express first."
This is not the first time the space agency has revealed plans for experimental farming on another celestial body. Earlier in May, NASA announced that it was considering beginning farming on Mars to support humans that will become inhabitants of the Red Project by 2030, according to a Fox News report.
Mars One, a Netherland-based company, is currently working on a Mission to establish human settlements on Mars. The company plans on offering a select group of people a one way ticket to the Red Planet. And to support these people, NASA is presently looking for ways to grow crops on the planet that will provide food for the future inhabitants of Mars. While it is possible to grow crops in the Martian soil, it will be a daunting task, posing many challenges and labor-intensive tasks.
