NASA Lunar gardens?

[Grey Havoc]

http://rt.com/news/nasa-grow-plants-moon-420/

 

[Michel Van]

so far i know is this not new
there were several proposals for Lunar "greenhouse"
Either as experiment on manned Moon Base, or in Unmanned lander, even for Apollo AAP.
NASA even grow plants in Lunar soil brought back by Apollo to Earth.

Original planed for Moon Base Life support system in 1950s
became obsolete in 1970s with concept of hydroponics

Although Scientist demanded this experiment to study plant grow under low gravity.

 

[Forrest White]

I haven't heard about this NASA mission anymore, most probably it was failed as Mars One. However, there is Chinese "Chang'e-4" which successfully brought cotton seeds in a special canister on the far side of the Moon. The container with soil, water, and the air was naturally illuminated. But, the cotton sprouts died when the night came.

 

[Grey Havoc]

Think that NASA project got clobbered in the infamous ongoing cutbacks & funding redirections of the Obama era.

Not sure if this more recent one is a direct successor: https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/scientists-grow-plants-in-lunar-dirt-next-stop-moon.39388/

 

[Grey Havoc]

On a similar note:

Australia seeks to grow plants on moon by 2025

Australian scientists are trying to grow plants on the moon by 2025 in a new mission unveiled today that they said could help pave the way for a future colony.

www.rte.ie

i24NEWS

www.i24news.tv

 

[publiusr]

Plants themselves perhaps replaced:

Chemists create an 'artificial photosynthesis' system ten times more efficient than existing systems

For the past two centuries, humans have relied on fossil fuels for concentrated energy; hundreds of millions of years of photosynthesis packed into a convenient, energy-dense substance. But that supply is finite, and fossil fuel consumption has tremendous negative impact on Earth's climate.

phys.org

-maybe phytomining to come.