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Tossed in space: NASA plans to farm greens on the moon

by Norman87Pdk Posted on November 27, 2013

Tossed in space: NASA plans to farm greens on the moon

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Someday astronauts visiting the moon could toddle out of their space shuttle, harvest basil from their lunar garden, and sprinkle it over their 3D-printed space pizza.

NASA hopes to begin growing radishes, basil, and other plants on the moon in 2015. A two-pound “greenhouse” is planned to be delivered there using an uncrewed Google Lunar X-Prize mission. From New Scientist:

The aim is to find out if the crews of moon bases will be able to grow some of their own greens, a capability that has proved psychologically comforting to research crews isolated in Antarctica and on the International Space Station, NASA says.

Factors that could confound lunar plant growth include the virtual absence of an atmosphere and high levels of solar and cosmic radiation that bombard the moon’s surface. So the space agency is developing a sealed canister with five days’ worth of air, in which seeds can germinate on nutrient-infused filter paper. The idea is that water will be released on touchdown and sunshine will do the rest.

And NASA isn’t hoping to take just agriculture to new heights — it is working to bring food production into space as well, using 3D printing. From the agency’s website:

As NASA ventures farther into space, whether redirecting an asteroid or sending astronauts to Mars, the agency will need to make improvements in life support systems, including how to feed the crew during those long deep space missions.

NASA recognizes in-space and additive manufacturing offers the potential for new mission opportunities, whether “printing” food, tools or entire spacecraft. Additive manufacturing offers opportunities to get the best fit, form and delivery systems of materials for deep space travel.

If NASA can figure out how to grow some space grapes to make moon wine to accompany the herb-enhanced printed pizza, we’ll be up there quicker than you can say Stanley Kubrick.


Source
3D Printing: Food in Space, NASA
Lunar thyme lords: can NASA bloom the moon?, New Scientist

John Upton is a science fan and green news boffin who tweets, posts articles to Facebook, and blogs about ecology. He welcomes reader questions, tips, and incoherent rants: johnupton@gmail.com.

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Tossed in space: NASA plans to farm greens on the moon

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How Green Is Cory Booker?

by Norman87Pdk Posted on October 18, 2013

Mother Jones

This story first appeared on the Grist website and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.

When Cory Booker’s name is mentioned in the same sentence with “green,” it’s usually in reference to the money he attracts. Still, in his six years as mayor of Newark, New Jersey, he’s been no slacker on the environmental front.

Tooting his own horn on his website, Booker credits himself with an impressive list of green achievements, among them creating “the largest parks and green-space expansion in Newark in over a century,” building hundreds of green affordable housing units, securing $1.5 million to reduce urban heat island effect, and creating “acres of urban farms” that benefit underserved neighborhoods.

Booker, who just trounced his tea party challenger, Steve Lonegan, in the race to succeed longtime Sen. Frank Lautenberg, now takes this experience, along with his state’s deep tradition of environmental justice advocacy, to Washington, DC. But when it comes to environmental policy, Booker has huge ECCO sandals to fill, and not everyone is as impressed with his green chops as he seems to be.

When Lautenberg passed away in June, Congress lost not only one of its most liberal members, but also one of its greenest. Lautenberg gave so much of his life to public transit that after his funeral his casket was transported via Amtrak, the train service he fought to keep alive. He pledged the same support for ferry service, which has also shown signs of decline lately.

Beyond that, Lautenberg was a primary sponsor of chemical labeling and safety legislation—a favored cause of celebrity actresses Jessica Alba and Jennifer Beals—and routinely scored at the top of his congressional class on report cards issued by food policy, parks conservation, and clean water advocacy groups (alternately scoring at the bottom among conservative advocacy and business interest groups).

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How Green Is Cory Booker?

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