The German Aerospace Center (DLR), NASA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) are jointly developing a concept for greenhouses on the Moon, intended to supply astronauts on future long-term missions with fresh food. The partners plan to build a demonstrator on Earth first, and aim to decide by 2032 at the latest whether and how it will be constructed.
The project, called the Lunar Agriculture Module - Ground Test Demonstrator (LAM-GTD), is based on the idea of connecting a greenhouse module directly to a simulated living and working area for astronauts. Researchers will use it to study plant growth and how the greenhouse and habitat can support each other.
Growing crops on the Moon is not straightforward: temperatures fluctuate extremely, the surface is almost airless, water is scarce and cosmic radiation poses a danger. Controlled cultivation systems that work independently of natural conditions are therefore required. The demonstrator builds on earlier experiments. NASA has grown lettuce, Chinese cabbage and chilli peppers on the International Space Station, and two harvests of various lettuce varieties have already been brought in by ISS crews. Researchers operated the EDEN ISS greenhouse in Antarctica from 2018 to 2023, a few hundred metres from the Neumayer III research station. There, using LED lamps, artificial nutrient solutions and a sophisticated irrigation system, researchers produced about one tonne of fresh vegetables, including lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes and strawberries, without soil or natural sunlight.
The three partners each bring distinct strengths. DLR contributes its knowledge from space research and previous greenhouse projects, NASA is working on the conditions for future lunar missions and a long-term human presence, and the Canadian Space Agency adds expertise in space research and technologies for crewed missions.
The research could also have applications on Earth. Technologies developed for controlled greenhouses, such as growing plants with minimal water, energy and space, could help agriculture in dry desert regions or areas with limited water resources, and potentially reduce the use of plant protection products.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- Fresh food will be crucial for future long-duration lunar missions, and this project is one pathway to supply crews.
- The greenhouse technology could help grow food in challenging environments on Earth, using fewer resources and fewer plant protection products.
- It represents a notable example of international cooperation between German, US and Canadian space agencies.
Background
As plans for long-term human presence on the Moon advance, providing a reliable food supply becomes a key challenge. Previous experiments on the ISS have grown small crops, but feeding an entire crew would require larger, self-contained cultivation systems. The LAM-GTD project aims to develop and test such a system on Earth before any lunar construction.
What to Watch
- Progress on building and testing the Earth-based demonstrator.
- The 2032 decision on whether and how to proceed with lunar construction.
- Further results from ISS experiments and DLR's Antarctic greenhouse research that could inform the design.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 12 supported.
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- SupportedDLR, NASA and Canada’s CSA plan lunar greenhouses to grow food for astronauts.Euronews: “The German Aerospace Center (DLR) is working with NASA and the Canadian space agency CSA on concepts for greenhouses on the Moon. They are initially intended to supply astronauts on future long-term missions with fresh food.”
- SupportedThe demonstrator will first be built on Earth.Euronews: “The planned demonstrator will first be built entirely on Earth.”
- SupportedThe partners aim to decide by 2032 at the latest whether and how the project will be constructed.Euronews: “By 2032 at the latest, the three partners want to decide whether and how it will actually be constructed.”
- SupportedDLR, NASA and CSA are jointly developing a concept intended to provide fresh food for astronauts on future long-term missions.Euronews: “The German Aerospace Center (DLR) is working with NASA and the Canadian space agency CSA on concepts for greenhouses on the Moon. They are initially intended to supply astronauts on future long-term missions with fresh food.”
- SupportedThe LAM-GTD concept connects a greenhouse module to a simulated astronaut living and working area, so researchers can study plant growth and how the greenhouse and habitat can support each other.Euronews: “The idea is to connect a greenhouse module directly to a simulated living and working area for astronauts. This will allow researchers not only to study plant growth but also to test how the greenhouse and habitat can supply each other.”
- SupportedMoon conditions include extreme temperature fluctuations, an almost airless surface, scarce water and dangerous cosmic radiation, so controlled cultivation systems are needed.Euronews: “Temperatures on the Moon fluctuate extremely, its surface is almost airless, water is scarce and cosmic radiation poses a considerable danger. Simply planting crops in lunar soil is not an option. What is needed are controlled cultivation systems that work independently of natural environmental conditions.”
- SupportedNASA has grown lettuce, Chinese cabbage and chilli peppers on the International Space Station.Euronews: “Among other things, lettuce, Chinese cabbage and chilli peppers have already been grown there.”
- SupportedISS crews have brought in two harvests of various lettuce varieties.Euronews: “The crew of the International Space Station ISS has already brought in two harvests of various lettuce varieties.”
- SupportedResearchers operated the EDEN ISS greenhouse in Antarctica from 2018 to 2023, a few hundred metres from Neumayer III research station.Euronews: “From 2018 to 2023, researchers operated a specially developed greenhouse in Antarctica, only a few hundred metres from the German research station Neumayer III.”
- SupportedUsing LED lamps, artificial nutrient solutions and irrigation, researchers produced about one tonne of vegetables without soil or natural sunlight.Euronews: “LED lamps, artificial nutrient solutions and a sophisticated irrigation system made it possible to harvest lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes and even strawberries. In total, they produced around one tonne of fresh vegetables.”
- SupportedDLR, NASA and CSA each contribute the expertise described in the story.Euronews: “DLR contributes its knowledge from space research and previous greenhouse projects. NASA is working on the conditions for future lunar missions and a long-term human presence on the Moon. The Canadian space agency CSA adds its expertise in space research and in technologies for crewed missions to the collaboration.”
- SupportedControlled greenhouse technologies could help agriculture in dry desert regions or places with limited water, and could reduce use of plant protection products.Euronews: “Technologies that allow plants to grow with as little water, energy and space as possible could also help there. Controlled greenhouses could also help produce food more precisely and with less use of plant protection products.”
