NASA Plans to Grow First Plants on the Moon

D-brief
By Breanna Draxler
Nov 25, 2013 9:16 PMOct 15, 2019 3:22 PM
transgenic plant of Arabidopsis.
Arabidopsis plants like those that will (fingers crossed) grow on the moon. Photo credit: Vasiliy Koval/Shutterstock

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The U.S. may not have plans to return astronauts to the moon anytime soon, but that doesn’t mean other lifeforms won’t grace the lunar surface. NASA is teaming up with students and private space companies to grow the first plants on the moon’s surface starting in 2015.

The self-contained Lunar Plant Growth Habitat will resemble a glorified coffee can and will contain enough water, nutrients and air to grow 10 turnip seeds, 10 basil seeds, and 100 arabidopsis seeds (this plant is the lab-rat of the botany world).

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