Lunar Turnips? NASA Planning to Grow Plants on Moon in 2015

NASA is planning to launch a spacecraft to the Moon to see if vegetables will grow on the satellite, which could be a critical step for having permanent settlement on the Moon in the future.

At the Ames Research Center in California scientists are preparing the "Lunar Plant Growth Habitat" project according to project's website. The project hopes to send a small automated greenhouse to the Moon's surface that will be full of basil, flower, and turnip seeds. The small (2.2 pound) project will land on the Moon, and then release water on to a piece of paper full of nutrients for the seeds. The hope is that the seeds will sprout despite not being on the Earth, which would be a huge step in seeing if humans could live on the Moon and be self-sustaining. As Nasa explains on the projects website:

"As seedlings, they can be as sensitive as humans to environmental conditions, sometimes even more so. They carry genetic material that can be damaged by radiation as can that of humans. They can test the lunar environment for us acting as a "canary in a coal mine. If we send plants and they thrive, then we probably can. Thriving plants are needed for life support (food, air, water) for colonists. And plants provide psychological comfort, as the popularity of the greenhouses in Antarctica and on the Space Station show."

The mission will not last longer than two weeks, so the seeds will not get the chance to grow into full plants, but if the seeds can begin to sprout this could lead to longer experiments where the plants are able to grow fully, perhaps to feed the human explorers on the Moon. Scientists will monitor how the seeds thrive using video and photos.

However, despite the fact that NASA is working on the experiment, they will not be sending the module into space. Instead, NASA is looking to commercial space companies to bring the experiment to the Moon. However, no specific company has been chosen yet, but the mission is still scheduled for a 2015 launch date.

This experiment will be the first life science experience done on another world besides Earth. Similar experiments have occurred on the International Space Station. Look out for more news on the Lunar Plant Growth Habitat as NASA finds a ride for the experiment to the Moon and NASA tries to find out if space turnips can become a reality.