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The eating-local food trend is really big right now. And apparently[显然地]， NASA注 wants to make sure astronauts[宇航员] don’t miss out. The agency[（政府）机构] recently announced plans to grow cress[水芹]， turnips[芜菁，萝卜] and basil[罗勒] on the moon.
And to protect the plants from the harsh cosmic[宇宙的] radiation[辐射] and the moon’s lack of atmosphere[大气]， NASA researchers will be sending them off inside a high-tech enclosed[密封的] container.
This could be good news for future space explorers： NASA’s Mars simulation[模拟] has already proven that people can only deal with so much freeze-dried food. But while astronauts will probably appreciate the fresh vegetables， NASA says the real goal of this experiment is to see if humans could one day live—and farm—on the moon.
“This will be the very first life science experiment performed in deep space，” says plant scientist Bob Bowman， one of the researchers behind the project. “Our goal is to show that the living organism[生物体] can thrive[茁壮成长] in what really is a hostile[不利的] environment，” he says.
But growing plants on the moon won’t be easy. The moon has one-sixth the gravity of Earth—and the plants that NASA sends up there will have to deal with that， as well as facing extreme temperatures and harsh radiation.
“The moon’s a weird place，” Bowman says. “On the side that’s facing the sun， the surface temperature is about 150 degrees Fahrenheit[华氏度]. On the other side， it’s negative 150 degrees.”
The plant habitat[生活环境] that Bowman and his colleagues[同事] have designed contains seeds， as well as a nutrient-rich paper and enough air and water for the seeds to grow. The canister[小罐] also has features[特征] that control light and temperature， and cameras that the researchers will use to track the plants’ progress over five to ten days.
The entire thing is about the size of a coffee canister， and it weights only one kilogram. It’ll be hitching[搭便车] a ride on the Moon Express lander[登陆车]， a spacecraft up for the Google Lunar X Prize that’s set to launch sometime in 2015.
Till then， the researchers will be putting the canister through plenty of testing. They also hope to get school kids across America involved， by encouraging them to build their own canisters.
Bowman says this is just the first step. “Someday，” he says， “what we learn from this and the follow-up experiments will enable us to live in deep space.”
食用本地食物这一风潮如今席卷各地，美国航天航空局（NASA）显然希望宇航员们也不要落伍。该局最近宣布，他们计划在月球上种植水芹、萝卜以及罗勒。
而为了保护这些植物免受强烈的宇宙辐射影响，也由于月球上没有大气，美国航天航空局的研究人员会将植物放进一个高科技的密封容器中，再送上太空。
这对于未来的太空探索者来说也许是个好消息：美国航天航空局的火星模拟实验已经表明，人类只能接受一定限度的冻干食品。不过，尽管宇航员们可能会很欢迎新鲜蔬菜，美国航天航空局表示，这个实验的真正目的在于测试人类是否终有一天能在月球上生活以及耕作。
“这将会是史上第一个在外太空进行的生命科学实验，”植物科学家鲍勃·鲍曼这样说道，他是参与这个计划的研究人员之一。“我们的目标是证明活着的生物体在如此恶劣的环境中依然可以茁壮成长，”他说。
不过，要在月球上种菜可不容易。月球的重力仅为地球的六分之一——美国航天航空局送上去的植物不但要适应这一点，同时还要面对极端的温度和强烈的辐射。
“月球是一个很奇怪的地方，”鲍曼说。“在朝向太阳的那一面，地面温度将近150华氏度（约65.6摄氏度），而在另一面则是-150度。”
鲍曼及其同事所设计的植物生长环境包括种子、富含营养成分的滤纸，以及足够种子发芽生长的水和空气。这个容器当中还有特制的部件，用以控制光照与温度；研究人员可以通过里面的摄像机追踪记录植物在五至十天内的生长情况。
整套装置只有咖啡罐那么大，重量仅为一千克。它将会搭上月球快递登月车的顺风车——这艘太空飞船参加了“谷歌月球X大奖”，准备在2015年升空。
到那时，研究人员会对容器进行各种严格测试。他们还希望全美国的学生一起参与其中，鼓励孩子们制作自己的密封罐。
鲍曼表示这只是第一步。“终有一天，”他说，“我们在这个实验以及接下来的实验当中学到的东西将会让我们得以在外太空生活。”
And to protect the plants from the harsh cosmic[宇宙的] radiation[辐射] and the moon’s lack of atmosphere[大气]， NASA researchers will be sending them off inside a high-tech enclosed[密封的] container.
This could be good news for future space explorers： NASA’s Mars simulation[模拟] has already proven that people can only deal with so much freeze-dried food. But while astronauts will probably appreciate the fresh vegetables， NASA says the real goal of this experiment is to see if humans could one day live—and farm—on the moon.
“This will be the very first life science experiment performed in deep space，” says plant scientist Bob Bowman， one of the researchers behind the project. “Our goal is to show that the living organism[生物体] can thrive[茁壮成长] in what really is a hostile[不利的] environment，” he says.
But growing plants on the moon won’t be easy. The moon has one-sixth the gravity of Earth—and the plants that NASA sends up there will have to deal with that， as well as facing extreme temperatures and harsh radiation.
“The moon’s a weird place，” Bowman says. “On the side that’s facing the sun， the surface temperature is about 150 degrees Fahrenheit[华氏度]. On the other side， it’s negative 150 degrees.”
The plant habitat[生活环境] that Bowman and his colleagues[同事] have designed contains seeds， as well as a nutrient-rich paper and enough air and water for the seeds to grow. The canister[小罐] also has features[特征] that control light and temperature， and cameras that the researchers will use to track the plants’ progress over five to ten days.
The entire thing is about the size of a coffee canister， and it weights only one kilogram. It’ll be hitching[搭便车] a ride on the Moon Express lander[登陆车]， a spacecraft up for the Google Lunar X Prize that’s set to launch sometime in 2015.
Till then， the researchers will be putting the canister through plenty of testing. They also hope to get school kids across America involved， by encouraging them to build their own canisters.
Bowman says this is just the first step. “Someday，” he says， “what we learn from this and the follow-up experiments will enable us to live in deep space.”
食用本地食物这一风潮如今席卷各地，美国航天航空局（NASA）显然希望宇航员们也不要落伍。该局最近宣布，他们计划在月球上种植水芹、萝卜以及罗勒。
而为了保护这些植物免受强烈的宇宙辐射影响，也由于月球上没有大气，美国航天航空局的研究人员会将植物放进一个高科技的密封容器中，再送上太空。
这对于未来的太空探索者来说也许是个好消息：美国航天航空局的火星模拟实验已经表明，人类只能接受一定限度的冻干食品。不过，尽管宇航员们可能会很欢迎新鲜蔬菜，美国航天航空局表示，这个实验的真正目的在于测试人类是否终有一天能在月球上生活以及耕作。
“这将会是史上第一个在外太空进行的生命科学实验，”植物科学家鲍勃·鲍曼这样说道，他是参与这个计划的研究人员之一。“我们的目标是证明活着的生物体在如此恶劣的环境中依然可以茁壮成长，”他说。
不过，要在月球上种菜可不容易。月球的重力仅为地球的六分之一——美国航天航空局送上去的植物不但要适应这一点，同时还要面对极端的温度和强烈的辐射。
“月球是一个很奇怪的地方，”鲍曼说。“在朝向太阳的那一面，地面温度将近150华氏度（约65.6摄氏度），而在另一面则是-150度。”
鲍曼及其同事所设计的植物生长环境包括种子、富含营养成分的滤纸，以及足够种子发芽生长的水和空气。这个容器当中还有特制的部件，用以控制光照与温度；研究人员可以通过里面的摄像机追踪记录植物在五至十天内的生长情况。
整套装置只有咖啡罐那么大，重量仅为一千克。它将会搭上月球快递登月车的顺风车——这艘太空飞船参加了“谷歌月球X大奖”，准备在2015年升空。
到那时，研究人员会对容器进行各种严格测试。他们还希望全美国的学生一起参与其中，鼓励孩子们制作自己的密封罐。
鲍曼表示这只是第一步。“终有一天，”他说，“我们在这个实验以及接下来的实验当中学到的东西将会让我们得以在外太空生活。”