Sixth Graders Take Science to the Moon

This spring, Community Preparatory School’s sixth grade scientists are taking part in the Plant the Moon Challenge, a global science experiment connected to NASA’s Artemis Program, which aims to return astronauts to the Moon and eventually send humans to Mars. Their task is to explore a question scientists are still working to answer: can we grow food on the Moon?

Thanks to a grant that fully funded the project, students have the materials and resources needed to bring this experiment to life in their classrooms.

Each homeroom divided into two teams, with students researching plants they believe could grow in a simulated Moon-soil and Earth-soil combination. They focused on self-pollinating plants that would germinate within the eight-week growing cycle, ultimately choosing crops like lettuce, baby spinach, and beans.

From there, teams designed their own experiments. Students selected soil amendments to help provide nutrients, determined their independent, dependent, and controlled variables, and used that thinking to build their hypotheses. Some groups are even testing creative additions like coffee grounds.

Using lunar regolith simulant, which contains no natural nutrients, students are investigating what needs to be added and in what amounts, while keeping in mind a real challenge astronauts face: minimizing how much material is brought from Earth.

Over the next several weeks, students will monitor their plants closely, tracking watering schedules, growth, and overall progress. It is not just about whether something grows, but about understanding what conditions make growth possible.