Plants on the moon

About our mission

The Australian Lunar Experiment Promoting Horticulture (or ALEPH) mission, which will involve a number of firsts in space travel history, will place a carefully selected set of seeds and lichens on the Moon. We aim to show that the environmental conditions necessary for biological survival can be maintained on the lunar surface within the first 72 hours of landing.

The motivation for such a mission comes from humanity’s passion to explore and see life thrive in barren landscapes. We see the ALEPH payload as the first step towards our eventual goal of providing plants for food, medicine, oxygen production and general wellbeing for future astronauts living on the Moon and beyond.

Who can be involved?

Our mission is led by a stellar team of scientists, engineers, and educators from top Australian institutions and organisations. But innovation and good ideas aren't restricted by formal expertise; they come from a community of curious, engaged, and passionate individuals like you. As Australia prepares for its first fully Australian-built lunar payload, we invite everyone passionate about biology, science, engineering, photography or space to join us. Whether you're a student, teacher, artist or hobbyist, your involvement can help shape this pioneering venture into lunar horticulture.

Explore how you can contribute to this nation wide project through our tailored pathways and initiatives below:

We'll be connecting with schools across Australia to run learning activities and modules covering the engineering, astrophysics and biological science aspects of our mission.

If you're a teacher, please reach out via the contact form below to register your interest. If you're a student, ask your teachers to see if your school is participating, or join an activty below!

Our team represents a growing number of universities across Australia and internationally. We'll be involving undergraduate and postgraduate students in a number of elements of our project along the way. If you'd like to be a part of our mission, please reach out via the contact form below.

If you're not a student, you can still be involved! Our outreach activities are open to anyone of any age, and any walk of life. With challenges, experiment kits and data portals, we're keen to engage expertise and innovative ideas from anyone who wants to be involved.

What you can do...

Click on the tiles below to explore resources, activities and challenges you can get involved in.

Lunar Life Survival Challenge

Nominate and test seeds and plants under conditions that simulate the lunar journey and contribute directly to groundbreaking research.

Interactive Plants Unit Hosted by Stile Education

Designed for school students, join this unit to build a “lunarium,” participate in real-world research, and create systems to help plants grow in space — all through engaging, hands-on activities!

Resources

Videos, 3D printable kits and templates designed to support hands-on experimentation with lunar agriculture.

Practice photography

Enhance your skills in scientific photography by learning and practicing techniques to capture detailed images of plant growth.

DIY engineering projects

Submit your innovative designs and solutions in our DIY engineering challenges aimed at solving real project design tasks.

Parallel Control Experiment

Register for our parallel control experiment to compare the growth of plants on Earth with those grown under lunar conditions.

ALEPH Lunar Harvest Card Game

Check out our ALEPH themed Card Game for a fun take on what it would be like to be an Astro-botanist in the challenging conditions on the Moon!

ALEPH Project Partners

We are privileged to work with amazing partners throughout Australia and worldwide. The collective knowledge, experience and expertise they contribute make this project possible.

Get in Touch!

To find out more about how you or your school or university can get involved, reach out to us via the contact form below:

Be involved in a space project from right here on Earth!