your investment unless you plan to have an ongoing habitat

LEDs also allow growers to tailor their light spectrum to manipulate and maximize certain plant attributes, thereby increasing a plant’s given nutraceutical content.”

Even so, Michele Perchonok, a food scientist at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, says the U.S. space agency would likely only grow fruits and vegetables such as potatoes, strawberries, cherry tomatoes; salad greens, carrots, and bell peppers in hydroponically-equipped lunar greenhouses. She says they would most likely transport earth-grown soybeans, wheat and peanuts to such a lunar colony in bulk.”

“Some of these plants take three months to grow,” said Perchonok. “So, it makes no sense to start building growth chambers or greenhouses if all you’re doing is one six-month stay. It doesn’t give you a good return on your investment unless you plan to have an ongoing habitat.”

“Still, Folta says the biggest challenge would be getting sufficient light to support crops like tomatoes and corn that require lots of photosynthesis.”