Natural gravity
About a sixth of Earth's, with no spinning required. Whether that is enough for birds and crops to thrive is one of the questions we want answered.
Why the surface
Ground under the flock
Water on site
Ice near the lunar south pole could supply the water a closed loop still needs to top up.
Built to stay
A surface habitat can grow over time and be supplied from the ground, instead of being a single launch that has to work alone.
What carries over
Proven on the pasture and in orbit first
Autonomous tending
The robots that feed, water and move flocks on Earth, and collect eggs in orbit.
The closed loop
Insect chambers that turn waste into feed, and water that gets cleaned and reused.
Launching life
Fertilized eggs, pre-incubated on Earth, instead of adult birds.
Watching over it
Cameras and sensors that let people on Earth see and care for the flock.
Open questions
What we still have to learn
- Low gravity biology. How chickens grow, breed and develop eggs at a sixth of Earth's gravity.
- Radiation. How much shielding a living flock needs on the surface.
- The lunar night. Keeping power, heat and light steady through two weeks of darkness away from the poles.
- Rules for living payloads. How animals in space get approved and cared for.
Follow the build
Be first to hear when the campaign opens
Updates as the pasture robots get built and C.L.O.C.H. moves from render to prototype. Crowdfunding is planned, and subscribers hear first.