Lunar Greenhouse

Greenhouses on Earth are generally largely glass structures meant to take in as much sunlight as possible for the plants inside. On the Moon and Mars, things will be different-- as they are for the greenhouse that supplies fresh veggies to the crew of a base near the South Pole of Earth.

Researchers manning the South Polar base are cut off from the rest of the world for six to eight months a year due to the extreme weather and extraordinary cold of the area; the base, therefore, is a good analogy for what would be required for deep space missions, or bases on other worlds, where the crew would be entirely on its own. The greenhouse at the South Pole is, in fact, buried underground. Light is manufactured. Plants are grown hydroponically-- that is, with water, but without soil.

The same company responsible for the South Pole greenhouse is now turning its attention to building a greenhouse for a lunar base. That one, too, would be buried underground, to protect the plants from radiation. It would also be collapsible, to allow transportation by rocket. The South Pole of Earth, a lunar lava tube, a cave on Mars, and the high-tech efficiency of a manned, interplanetary spacecraft may all be unique environments, but the basics of growing food may be the same in them all.