Prof. Simon Barak in his lab (Photo: BGU)
Israeli scientists from the Ben-Gurion University (BGU) in the Negev have been researching whether or not plants can grow in a barren landscape such as the surface of the moon, and, if so, what types of plants? The BGU scientists together with the Lunaria One consortium are looking for the answers to these questions and more.
Someday there may very well be a moon base or a lunar colony. The base might have everything needed from the Earth to grow all manner of plants: water, soil, fertilizer, etc. But can Earth plants grow in zero gravity? Can the Moon’s soil be used to grow plants? Answering such questions will help determine if food can be grown on space ships making long journeys across the solar system, and someday even the Galaxy.
Also, growing plants on the moon means overcoming several challenges such as massive temperature swings on the way to the moon, a water supply for the plants, and high temperatures when growing the plants. The plant types will need to be those that can germinate and grow to an appropriate size for imaging within 72 hours of deployment.
Will you offer us a hand? Every gift, regardless of size, fuels our future.
Your critical contribution enables us to maintain our independence from shareholders or wealthy owners, allowing us to keep up reporting without bias. It means we can continue to make Jewish Business News available to everyone.
You can support us for as little as $1 via PayPal at [email protected].
Thank you.
An experiment proposed by Lunaria One, known as Aleph, was selected by SpaceIL, a non-profit aerospace organization, to be included as one of the payloads on board their Beresheet2 lander. The Beresheet2 mission, planned to launch in mid-2025, will consist of two landers alighting on each side of the moon and an orbiter that will continue to orbit the moon for up to 5 years. Aleph will consist of a tray of seeds and dehydrated plants, a way to rehydrate and water them, heaters, and cameras to monitor the plants.
Prof. Simon Barak of the Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research (BIDR) at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, is coordinating all the plant biologists and imaging specialists. They include three from Australia, one from South Africa and two of his colleagues from BIDR at Ben-Gurion University: Prof. Aaron Fait and Dr. Tarin Paz-Kagan.
“The motivation for this mission comes from humanity’s passion to explore and see life thrive in barren landscapes. We see the Aleph payload as an important step towards our eventual goal of providing plants for food, medicine, oxygen production, CO2-scrubbing, and general well-being for future astronauts inhabiting the moon and beyond,” explains Prof. Barak.
“The central value guiding this project is that space exploration is for everyone; we don’t want a future where only autonomous and remote-controlled machines inhabit realms beyond earth, but where humans can live and thrive. The key to this is to get humans involved and to give them a say in how we get there. The ALEPH project aims to open up the science and engineering behind growing life on the Moon so that anyone can be involved,” explains Lunaria One Director Lauren Fell.
The project also has a strong citizen science component. Parallel science experiments will be carried out by amateurs (for example, high school students) and professionals to compare growth to that on the Moon.
Additional universities participating in Lunaria One include Queensland University of Technology, the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and the Australian National University in Australia and The University of Cape Town in South Africa.
