As exciting as the discovery of molecular water in Lunar soil may be, I think any talk of growing vegetables on its surface are stretching possibilities quite a bit – unless of course they mean within some sheltered building (which is not yet mentioned).
My chief reason for saying this is that plants need much more than water to produce or even survive successfully. Here is the Global Times article discussing the find…
‘Chinese eagerly discuss ‘planting veggies’ on lunar surface following ground-breaking discovery’ – Global Times – July 25, 2024
The reason that planet Earth is not capable of producing sufficient natural food to feed its growing population just now, is the same reason the Moon will be unable to do so either. At least, without further knowledge of lunar chemical composition, I believe this is so.
Most of the chemicals required to grow plants of any kind appear to be present in lunar soil. Yet there is no mention – nor have I seen any mention elsewhere (and I admit that may be just my lack of knowledge) – I repeat, no mention, of either carbon or carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is of course the supreme essential element of all carbon based life. And if they are talking of carbonless food, well… count me out.
To use a saying from the American vernacular, without CO2, and plenty of it – “Aint nuthin’ gonna grow.”
One day soon, Earth people are going to come to terms with that requirement. And they will cease their stupid preoccupation with destroying themselves by trying ‘zero’ or even ‘net-zero’ it out of their lives.
In any case, net-zeroing CO2 on planet Earth is an impossibility. No matter how hard we foolish people try. Very soon (within the next 20 million years), atmospheric CO2 will be at levels two to three times higher than they are now. And that is roughly the level required to sustain carbon based life. And that is why Earth people are so unhealthy, sick, miserable, and grumpy, while at the same time reasonably compliant today. Of course that is just how ‘the rulers’ want us to be. Thankfully, CO2 is already on the rise, despite our pretending to curb it, and just maybe that is why there is considerably more aggression rising among us. We need to channel that aggression in the right direction. This is a temporary thing arising from our unhealthy and oppressed conditions. As CO2 rises and we become more healthy and content, with a freshly blooming and productive Earth biome, the aggression will fall away. Content people do not get angry. And there is a great chasm of difference between being content and being compliant.
Anyway, that CO2 issue is just one thing mediating against moon-veggies or gardens. The bigger issue is that the Moon has no atmosphere to speak of and what there is requires constant refreshing as it drifts off into space.
Neither does it contain the four mandatory elements for life of any kind (this is a layman’s view, remember that). Those elements are Oxygen, Nitrogen, Methane and Carbon Dioxide, the presence of which has been detected within the Moon’s surface layers (back in Apollo Mission times, but I have no idea in what amounts), and whether they could be combined in a gas to set up a viable atmosphere around the Moon is questionable. It is not worth speculating further without scientific input, but I doubt we could ever set up a Mini-Earth up there. And it could be detrimental to our survivability if we did. It might decide to drift away to find its own orbit around the Sun. Leaving us with untold chaos. Or it could invite some potentially nasty neighbours. Think about it.
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