Sylvie Claire / October 7, 2022
Australian scientists want to try to grow plants on the moon by 2025 in a new mission unveiled Friday with the goal of developing a colony.
This project is a first step toward growing plants for food, medicine and oxygen production, all of which are crucial to establishing human life on the moon," the researchers said in a statement.
Brett Williams, a plant biologist at Queensland University of Technology, said the seeds will be transported by the Beresheet 2 spacecraft - a private Israeli space mission.
After landing and once in the ground, the seeds will be watered in a sealed chamber and scientists will monitor any signs of germination.
The types of plants will be chosen based on their ability to withstand extreme weather conditions but also on the speed of their germination.
Besides creating the beginnings of human life on the moon, this mission could also serve as a laboratory for finding solutions to food security problems caused by global warming, says Caitlin Byrt, a professor at the Australian National University.
"If we can create a system to grow plants on the moon, then we can create a system to grow food in some of the harshest environments on Earth," she noted in a statement.
The project is led by the Lunaria One organization, which includes Australian and Israeli scientists.