Understanding and Managing the Hazards and Opportunities of Lunar Regolith in Greenhouse Agriculture

Lunar settlements will include industrial agriculture, so an artificial agricultural environment will be part of the landscape and work space for early settlements. Provision of capacity and development of new capabilities will pose both opportunities and risks for engineers, scientists and project managers. Lunar regolith is the layer of particles on the surface of the Moon which has been generated by micro-meteorite impact and resembles volcanic ash. The finest particles are less than 100 µm particle size diameter and are generally referred to as dust. Particle sizes are as small as 0.01 µm and show an abundance of agglutinate glasses and metallic iron and the low electrical conductance allows grain to retain electrostatic charge. Lunar regolith appears to contain all essential minerals to support agriculture. Using lunar soil simulants, studies have shown that it is possible to grow certain plants for up to 50 days without addition of nutrient and to sow seeds to permit germination and crop harvest by the addition of organic matter.