LEAF – Lunar Effects on Agricultural Flora, An Artemis III Deployed Instrument

Artemis III will return humans to the Moon for the first time this century. Alongside the crew will be the Lunar Effects on Agricultural Flora (LEAF) payload, which applies systems biology and engineering to study how the lunar environment (1/6 gravity, elevated radiation) affects the physiologic responses of model space crops. LEAF focuses on plant germination and growth to assess their potential to support astronauts and contribute to bioregenerative life support systems. Key goals include growing resilient model crops in lunar and Earth environments, comparing crop phenotypes, and examining seed germination, clonal reproduction, morphology, growth, carbon dioxide consumption, and oxygen production. The project also aims to identify genome-wide biomolecular deviations in crops grown on the Moon and to generate hypotheses on their potential to support life through photosynthesis and nutrient production. LEAF will shield plants from excessive lunar sunlight, radiation, and the vacuum of space, while monitoring photosynthesis, growth, and stress responses. The system includes a plant growth chamber with a crewed-cabin-like atmosphere, housing Brassica rapa (Wisconsin Fast Plants®), Wolffia (duckweed), and Arabidopsis thaliana. Instrumentation includes the Lunar Environment Monitoring (LEM) System to measure radiation, acceleration, and lunar gravity; the Plant Habitat Support (PHS) System to control the plant-growth environment, monitor gas exchange, and preserve samples for return to Earth; and the Plant Health Imaging (PHI) System to monitor plant morphology and growth. The crew will collect seedling samples for return to Earth, enabling researchers to apply advanced systems biology tools to study molecular-level physiological responses.