US scientists want to grow vegetables in mini-greenhouses on the moon in Lunar Oasis¹.

Astronauts' meals have come a long way from the freeze-dried powders and semi-liquid pastes of decades ago: now US scientists want to grow vegetables in mini-greenhouses on the moon.

Scientists say they are looking forward to a time when residents of future lunar or even Martian outposts will be able to dine on fresh vegetables. Paragon² Space Development Corporation has unveiled what it called the first step toward growing flowers - and eventually food - on the moon.

Paragon, which has partnered with NASA in previous experiments on the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station, calls it a "Lunar Oasis".

This is a sealed greenhouse that looks like a bell jar encased in a 46-cm triangular³ aluminum⁴ frame. It is designed to safely land a laboratory plant on the lunar surface, and protect it while it grows.

The miniature greenhouse is to be launched into space by Odyssey⁵ Moon Ltd, a participant in the Google Lunar X Prize. This competition offers $20 million to any entrant who can launch, land and operate a rover on the lunar surface.

Paragon officials say future testing of the "Lunar Oasis" will be driven by Odyssey's flight schedule, which will not happen until 2012 at the earliest.

When it does lift off the greenhouse will contain the seeds of Brassica, a hardy⁶ plant related to Brussels sprouts⁷ and cabbage. Because Brassica goes from seed to flower in just 14 days, it can complete its life cycle in a single lunar night.

"Colonizing⁸ the Moon or Mars seems so far away, but it is important that we do this research now," Paragon president Jane Poynter said.

"It takes a long time to get a lot of research, and to get integrated, reliable efficient systems" before colonists⁹ move in, she said.

从几十年前的压缩食品和半流体膏状食品，宇航员食品发生了很大变化。而如今美国科学家又希望能在月球上的微型温室中种植蔬菜。

科学家们称，他们希望有朝一日未来的月球居民甚至前往火星的人能够吃到新鲜蔬菜。“Paragon空间发展集团”日前公布了其在月球培育花朵最终种植食物的第一步规划。

Paragon公司将这一计划称为“月球绿洲”。该机构与美国宇航局长期合作，曾在航天飞机和国际空间站上做过试验。

“月球绿洲”是一个密封的温室，看起来像一个钟形的玻璃容器，卡在一个高46厘米的铝制三角框架中。这样设计是为了让实验室植物能够安全降落在月球表面，并令其在生长期间一直能得到保护。

这一微型温室将由奥德赛月球公司发射升空。奥德赛公司是“Google月球X大奖赛”的参赛者，该比赛将为有能力向月球发射登月飞行器的公司提供2000万美元的奖励。

Paragon的官员称，未来对于“月球绿洲”的测试将取决于奥德赛公司的飞行时间表，最早也要等到2012年。

届时，“月球绿洲”将携带一种生命力极强的芸苔属植物种登陆月球，芽甘蓝和卷心菜就属于这类植物。由于芸苔属植物从播种到开花只需14天的时间，所以在月球上只需一夜即可完成生命循环。

Paragon的总裁简•波耶恩特说：“开垦月球或火星似乎非常遥远，但现在我们开展这项研究十分重要。”

她说：“人们需要很长的时间来开展大量的研究，以在科考站建立之前形成完善、可靠以及有效的系统。”