Lunaria One’s experiment was selected by SpaceIL, a non-profit aerospace organisation, to be included as one of the payloads onboard their Beresheet2 lander.
The Beresheet 2 mission is currently planned to launch in 2025, with Lunaria One hoping to have their experiment up and running on the moon in the same year.
Beresheet 2 will consist of two landers landing on each side of the moon and an orbiter that will continue to orbit the moon for up to five years.
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Lunaria One is sending a single payload onboard the Beresheet 2 mission. The payload, named the Australian Lunar Experiment Promoting Horticulture (ALEPH), will be the first of several scientific experiments carried out by Lunaria One.
The aim of the experiments is to show that plants can survive and grow on the lunar surface. The work being done will be of significant value to the scientific community, especially in light of NASA’s plans to build a permanent moon base as part of its Artemis mission in the 2030s.
The project involves a combined effort from a growing number of organisations across Australia and beyond, including Queensland University of Technology, RMIT University, Australian National University, and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, as well as several commercial companies.
Lunaria One also hopes to involve global citizens in the project, with a plan to use citizen scientists from across the world to contribute to the experiment here on Earth.
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Lauren Fell, director of Lunaria One, spoke about the ambitious goals of the project, emphasising the companies’ desire to democratise space.
“The central value guiding this project is that space exploration is for everyone; we don’t want a future where only autonomous and remote-controlled machines inhabit realms beyond Earth, but where humans can live and thrive.
“The key to this is to get humans involved and to give them a say in how we get there. The ALEPH project aims to open up the science and engineering behind growing life on the moon so that anyone can be involved,” said Fell.
The Lunaria One experiment will involve a number of dehydrated seeds and plants being carried to the moon in a sealed chamber, where they will be rehydrated and then monitored for 72 hours.
This data will then be compared against the same plants grown on Earth over a similar period to discern any significant changes.
Liam McAneny
Liam McAneny is a journalist who has written and edited for his University International Relations journal. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (International Relations) and Bachelor of Laws from the University of Wollongong in 2021. He joined Momentum Media in 2022 and currently writes for SpaceConnect and Australian Aviation. Liam has a keen interest in geopolitics and international relations as well as astronomy.
Send Liam an email at: [email protected]
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