A project studying whether plants can survive on the lunar surface has booked a ride on Intuitive Machines’ third mission, scheduled for take-off next year.

In July 2023, the Australian Lunar Experiment Promoting Horticulture (ALEPH) project received $3.6m as part of the Australian Space Agency’s Moon to Mars Initiative.

The project is led by Australian start-up Lunaria One working in collaboration with a number of universities, non-profits and industry partners.

The aim is to take a payload into space that contains seeds and plants, and eventually grow plants that astronauts can eat when on the Moon and Mars.

This is more challenging than it sounds as the plants and seeds have a lot to endure before they even get to the lunar surface, including lengthy storage at the launch pad, intense vibrations during lift-off and extreme temperature variations from 120-130°C below zero.

According to Lunaria One, investigating whether seedlings can grow on the lunar surface is of fundamental biological...