An image shows an artist’s concept of an Artemis astronaut deploying an instrument on the lunar surface. NASA has made significant progress in cultivating vegetables in space since astronauts aboard the International Space Station ate the first space-grown meal nearly a decade ago. NASA’s latest plan involves sending the Lunar Effects on Agricultural Flora (LEAF) experiment to the moon as part of the Artemis III crewed mission in 2026.
LEAF, created by Space Lab Technologies in Colorado, will study how the lunar surface environment affects space crops, observing plant photosynthesis, growth, and stress responses in space radiation and partial gravity. The LEAF Beta payload features a plant growth chamber with an isolated atmosphere to protect the plants from excessive lunar sunlight, radiation, and the vacuum of space. After a week on the lunar surface, the astronauts will bring back seedling samples for further analysis in laboratory conditions.
In addition to LEAF, two more science experiments have been selected for the Artemis III mission. The Lunar Environment Monitoring Station (LEMS) will monitor the moon’s seismic environment long-term, while the Lunar Dielectric Analyzer (LDA) will measure lunar soil’s ability to propagate an electric field, aiding in the search for resources like ice on the moon. Christine Escobar, vice president of Space Lab, believes these experiments are essential steps towards understanding how agriculture can support human crew in space, leading to sustained lunar exploration and future missions to Mars.
