Museum of Science and Industry

Did Mars ever harbor life? Could humans live on the moon?

Potential answers to these two big questions are the centerpieces of Life in Space? This temporary exhibit features a prototype for how lunar colonists might be able to grow food on the moon.

The Lunar Greenhouse is a prototype of a self-contained, automated environment with the potential to provide water, oxygen and one-half of the daily amount of food for a single person to survive. This cylindrical structure (approx. 18" x 7") will grow plant life using hydroponics (in nutrient-rich water without soil). Learn how water is continually recycled to help nourish crop production, how the plants produce oxygen for the astronaut, and how the astronaut produces carbon dioxide for the plants—mimicking the Earth's essential life-sustaining cycle. Built and being tested by faculty and students at the University of Arizona’s Controlled Environment Agriculture Center (CEAC), with support from NASA, the Lunar Greenhouse is an opportunity to visualize first-hand how humans may someday be able to live on the moon.

This exhibit is included in general admission.