Researchers tout plans for moon greenhouse, Silent Running sequel

The Google Lunar X Prize obviously hasn't drawn quite the same number of competitors as some of the more Earthbound X Prizes, but it looks like things are starting to heat up a little bit, with Paragon Space Development recently teaming up with Odyssey Moon in an effort to deploy the first greenhouse on the surface of moon. Specifically, the team is hoping to grow a Brassica plant (a member of the mustard family) in a pressurized greenhouse like the one picture above, and possibly even see the plant re-seed itself within a single Lunar day (or 14 Earth days), which just so happens to coincide with the average growth period for the plant on Earth. Of course, that would only be one small part of the X Prize mission, which first and foremost requires teams to safely land a craft, send some live video back to Earth, travel at least 500 meters, send some more video, and carry a payload. So, still a little ways off, but don't let that stop you from checking out the (autoplaying) video after the break, in which Paragon's Taber MacCallum (a Biosphere veteran himself) explains the project to the folks at Engineering TV.

[JAmerican @ Apr 27th 2009 6:12PM]

Can't wait to give one of these to my moon wife during Valentine's Day :)

[Quantumphysics @ Apr 27th 2009 6:29PM]

FINALLY, Now I can get STONED on the MOON !

LEGALIZE MARIJUANA NOW !

[milton359 @ Apr 27th 2009 10:17PM]

@ Quantum
technically it is since there is no interstellar law against it

[G @ Apr 28th 2009 4:39AM]

i just got an awesome idea, is it legal to get stoned on a boat in international waters?

[James Dumoulin @ Apr 28th 2009 12:50PM]

@G
Pretty expensive boat trip just to get stonned

[Brendon @ Apr 28th 2009 4:52PM]

lol, come to canada. most of our provinces are decriminalized, meaning you can smoke it and the police can basically just take it away. Just like amsterdam

[Samurai Jack @ Apr 27th 2009 6:17PM]

Geez, that guy in the photo even looks like Bruce Dern. Good article title Engadget.

[Mark @ Apr 27th 2009 6:41PM]

Really? I think he looks more like Peter Stormare.

[JAmerican @ Apr 27th 2009 6:47PM]

The trailers back then told you the whole movie LOL http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TckJBvl_uT0

[bandigolo @ Apr 27th 2009 8:57PM]

I'm going with a slightly chubbier Henry Winkler

[chispito @ Apr 27th 2009 9:07PM]

Yeah I was thinking Henry Winkler, too.

[something clever @ Apr 27th 2009 10:23PM]

I third the henry winkler idea. Motion passes. Meeting adjourned.

[THizzle7XU @ Apr 27th 2009 6:22PM]

Great, this is the first step towards global warming on the moon.

[Mark @ Apr 27th 2009 6:37PM]

uhh... plants reduce carbon compounds in the air...

[Alex @ Apr 27th 2009 7:37PM]

@THizzle7XU:

Why do you think that environmentalists fight for protecting and planting trees?

I think that THizzle7XU's statement is either extremely undetectably sarcastic, or unbelievably ignorant. If the latter is the case, (and it probably is) then his ignorance is very telling of the intelligence of many of the global-warming fanatics.

[aj121489 @ Apr 27th 2009 9:33PM]

I hope none of you are serious considering there's no atmosphere on the moon...

[Wwhat @ Apr 27th 2009 10:57PM]

It's a step in colonising space, and creating atmospheres on other planets/bodies, and once you got that humans will tend to ruing it again as a next step.
I think that was the point he was trying to make.
And it's not unrealistic because there's been many suggestion to shoot crap we make in space or store it on the moon, from spent nuclear fuel to pollutants.

[maty @ Apr 28th 2009 4:00AM]

@THizzle7XU

Firstly: Look-up "terraforming".

Secondly, the moon has no atmosphere. You can't "warm" it by adding to its non-existent atmosphere. As with Mars, it simply doesn't have the mass to hold down an atmosphere, the atmosphere if it had one, would slowly drift into space.

Thirdly, the moon has a temperature range far exceeding Earth's, its both warmer and cold than Earth, what you really need on the moon is Climate Stabilization. But again, pretty difficult without an atmosphere.

I do hope you were being sarcastic and I wasted my time, rather that than find there are actually people that ignorant.

Bring on the Moon Base :).

[GingerFox @ Apr 28th 2009 12:35PM]

@Maty
Mars has an atmosphere you know...

[THizzle7XU @ Apr 28th 2009 10:28PM]

THizzle7XU @ Apr 28th 2009 10:27PM

Wow, all of you are so completely dumb, it makes me sad. I was being about as sarcastic as possible. So Alex, you couldn't be more off with your ignorant assumption.

Greenhouse on moon->Greenhouse Gases->global warning ridiculousness->joke

You people need to lighten up. Now I know what type of people Conan was referring to when he does his "Scientific Glasses" gesture bit. Do you guys talk in that high pitched, nasally voice as well? GLAYVEN!

[J Dogg @ Apr 27th 2009 6:23PM]

Will Ruth rent the sequel for Arthur as well? And "nuzzle" each other while watching it?

"Beets! Bears! Battlestar Galactica! Silent Running!"

[MK @ Apr 27th 2009 6:24PM]

This looks like it would be awesome for growing "Tomatoes".

[oliveboy @ Apr 27th 2009 6:38PM]

Is it me or does he look like The Fonz?

[marco @ Apr 27th 2009 6:51PM]

I was thinking he looks more like Gary Busey

[Madoc @ Apr 27th 2009 7:29PM]

Is that the Fonzie?

[strider_mt2k @ Apr 27th 2009 8:15PM]

Take care of the Forest...

[Murphy Mac @ Apr 27th 2009 10:12PM]

One of the first movies my mother let me stay up and watch. And definitely the first time I ever heard the word suicide.

And how many movies since have had similar looking devices to the mechanism of the bombs in that movie?

[Ted S. @ Apr 27th 2009 8:34PM]

look at his thumb! it IS the Fonz!!!! AAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYY!

[KrazyCalvin @ Apr 27th 2009 9:55PM]

You do you get funding for something like this... How does that guy get paid? I want the job their doing...

[deadtechx @ Apr 27th 2009 11:09PM]

Now , All we have left to do is populate the moon , turn it into a earth-like ecosystem , and deplete it of its undiscovered natural resources =P

[Colonel Kernel @ Apr 27th 2009 11:36PM]

One small clarification for those not knowing: while the Lunar day, as opposed to the Lunar night, is correctly stated as 14 days, one full Lunar Day is 28-ish hours.

[JOSE @ Apr 28th 2009 1:23AM]

damn, now how will the cartels be able to bring their product with out being detected?

[tomokazu.osada @ Apr 28th 2009 3:39AM]

yeahhhh.....ummmmmm...NO.

tomo

[ioannisnousias @ Apr 28th 2009 10:23AM]

there have been some good questions asked in this interview, but I think an important one was omitted. How much water does the carrier vessel need to carry? Not implying it's a technical obstacle, since it's a small plant and probably doesn't need more than one or two liters of water for the 14 day period they are targeting for. Nonetheless, it does add to the total weight and just as he talked about regulating the CO2/O2 flow, they would also need to regulate the water flow. Again, this is a comment for the interviewer not the project itself.

[elBravo @ Apr 28th 2009 11:15AM]

Very little water would be needed. Since the plant is inside an air(and water)tight pressure vessel, there would be a closed loop water cycle. I remember making a closed loop system like this in kindergarten using a 2 liter soda bottle. It lasted for quite a long time with only it's initial water, although I think there was some sort of impermeable filter to allow air to circulate. There was constantly condensate on the inside walls of the bottle.

[Adam @ Apr 28th 2009 12:20PM]

Big props for the Silent Running callout

[THizzle7XU @ Apr 28th 2009 10:27PM]

Wow, all of you are so completely dumb, it makes me sad. I was being about as sarcastic as possible. So Alex, you couldn't be more off with your ignorant assumption.

Greenhouse on moon->Greenhouse Gases->global warning ridiculousness->joke

You people need to lighten up. Now I know what type of people Conan was referring to when he does his "Scientific Glasses" gesture bit. Do you guys talk in that high pitched, nasally voice as well? GLAYVEN!

[Cray @ Apr 29th 2009 2:55AM]

You gave no indication that your comment was sarcastic, a little smiley face would've clued everyone in and we wouldn't wasted thread space debating it.

Sarcasm is highly overrated as ANYONE can be a smartass no matter how witty you think you can be, especially on the internet and in a tech forum. You wanna be funny, let us know you aiming for that, internet conversations are far too literal to be playing guessing games with a drive-by commentary.

As for the article, I too wonder what kind of payload would be needed for water. I think it would have to be rather significant for this to be implemented on a grand scale.

[THizzle7XU @ Apr 29th 2009 6:15PM]

OMG? Were you being sarcastic??? I didn't see a smiley face???

Oh woe is me, I wasn't told how I was supposed to react to the comment!

So in your world, books, newspapers, or any kind of print media aren't funny because the author didn't write 'OK, you can laugh now *smiley face*', after clever lines? Haha, now THAT's funny! ;) :P *wink* 'OK, you can laugh now'

Seriously, you people -> GLAYVEN!