On April 4, foreign media reported that the United States Space Administration (NASA) will open the second round of space planting project. This plan will continue NASA’s experience in using LED lights to grow plants on the International Space Station for many years, and promote LED plant lighting planting technology to the moon.

To that end, NASA has partnered with Boulder, Colo., based Space Lab Technologies to develop an indoor growth capsule, similar to a small vertical farm, with LED lights as a light source for astronauts to grow three crops on the moon, which will be an important part of the U.S. lunar landing program “Artemis III mission.”

The Artemis III mission will be an important step after the first human landing on the moon. The project is expected to take place as early as September 2026, when two astronauts will land on the lunar surface for a series of tasks, including assembling a horticultural experiment called the Effects of the Moon on Agricultural Plants (LEAF).

LEAF will study the effects of the lunar surface environment on space crops and is the first experiment to observe photosynthesis, growth and stress responses in plants. The experiment will be conducted under space radiation and partial gravity conditions, and the data collected will help scientists understand the potential for growing plants on the Moon and other planets to support human nutrition and life support.

In a press release, Space Lab further explained that the crops studied in the project could not only be used as food, but also to remove CO2, provide oxygen, and help purify water in the lunar environment.

Space Lab says the experiment will include a plant growth chamber insulated from outside air, in which red and green varieties of rutabaga, duckweed and Arabidopsis will be grown. Among them, rutabagas include cabbage, cabbage, watercress, turnip, watercress and other food plant species, and NASA astronauts have become familiar with how to grow and eat this plant vegetable on the International Space Station.

To protect plants from the moon’s extreme environment, the growth chamber provides an enclosed environment that insulates them from the moon’s radiation, extreme temperatures, sunlight and weak gravity. The experiment will allow the crops to grow to the seedling stage, laying the foundation for future space cultivation.

In addition to the LEAF growth module project, NASA plans to send two additional groups of science equipment on the Artemis III mission to monitor seismic activity and electrical properties. The Artemis III mission is scheduled to land on the moon’s South Pole and will be preceded by Artemis II, a crewed mission around the moon that is expected to launch as early as September 2025 to pave the way for the Artemis III mission.