Above: Varying types of Hawaiian basalt soil serve as growth mediums for ‘uala. Credit: Lichen Forster/Ke Kalahea
A group of UH Hilo students are researching how Hawaiian canoe plants—the reliable, hearty crops first brought to the Hawaiian Islands for cultivation by Polynesian explorers—could one day support food security on the Moon.
Called the “Lunar Vulcans,” Kamalani Poepoe, Trinity Parascandola, Jose Loera, and Maxwell Barr are growing ʻuala (sweet potato) in Hawaiian basalt that is chemically akin to lunar regolith. Due to this similarity, the team believes ʻuala could grow on the Moon as well as it does in Hawaiʻi, potentially serving as a sustainable food source for future astronauts.
At the beginning of the Spring 2024 semester, the team received a $1,500 NASA MINDS award as part of a design challenge to create systems that support NASA’s Artemis program to return humans to the Moon. PISCES research director Christian Andersen and UHH astronomy professor Heather Kaluna are mentors for the project.