Artemis astronauts will send plants to the moon in 2026

The first astronauts to land on the moon in more than half a century will set up a mini greenhouse on the Moon if all goes as planned. NASA has selected the first three science experiments that astronauts will deploy on the lunar surface during the Artemis 3 mission in 2026. These include LEAF (Lunar Effects on Agricultural Flora), which will examine how space cultures live on an exotic moon. environment.

“LEAF will be the first experiment to observe plant photosynthesis, growth, and systemic stress responses in cosmic radiation and partial gravity,” NASA officials wrote in announcing the selection of the three experiments on Tuesday, March 26.

“Data on plant growth and development, as well as environmental parameters measured by LEAF, will help scientists understand the use of plants grown on the Moon, both for human nutrition and to support life on the Moon and beyond,” they added.

LEAF objects will not be the first vegetation on the Moon; In January 2019, China sent cotton plants to the far side of the moon with the Chang’e 4 robotic mission. Two other recently selected experiments are the Lunar Environment Monitoring Station (LEMS) and the Lunar Dielectric Analyzer (LDA).

LEMS It is an array of independent seismometers that will monitor the moon for two years after deployment. “It characterizes the regional structure of the lunar crust and mantle, which will add valuable information to models of the formation and evolution of the Moon,” NASA officials wrote in a statement Tuesday.

Meanwhile, LDA will measure the ability of the lunar regolith (the upper layer of dust and gravel) to emit an electric field. Representatives of the agency wrote that the device “will collect important information about the internal structure of the Moon, monitor dielectric changes caused by the change in the angle of the Sun during the Moon’s rotation, and look for the possible formation of frost or ice deposits.”

The devices will be deployed near the moon’s south pole, a region believed to be rich in water ice that could support one or more crewed outposts. The exact location is still unknown; NASA has not announced the final landing site for the Artemis 3 mission, which will use the SpaceX Starship to carry astronauts from lunar orbit to the surface and back. (They will reach lunar orbit using the agency’s Space Launch System rocket and Orion capsule.)

There is also no guarantee that LEAF, LEMS and LDA will fly on Artemis 3. That’s the current plan, but “final mission description decisions will be determined at a later date,” NASA officials wrote in an update Tuesday.

The crew of Artemis 3 has not yet been announced, but NASA said the mission will be the first time in history that a woman and a black person land on the moon.

Artemis 3 will be the first manned mission to the lunar surface since Apollo 17 in December 1972. Artemis-3’s predecessor, Artemis-2, will send four astronauts around the moon and return to Earth in late 2025, if all goes as planned.

Lunar Artemis 1, a successful uncrewed mission to and from lunar orbit, was launched in November 2022.