Fresh food on moon not light years away

TUCSON, Arizona: Astronauts' meals have come a long way from the freeze-dried powders and semi-liquid pastes of decades ago: now US scientists want to grow vegetables in mini-greenhouses on the moon.

Scientists say they are looking forward to a time when residents of future lunar or even Martian outposts will be able to dine on fresh vegetables. Paragon Space Development Corporation has unveiled what it called the first step toward growing flowers - and eventually food - on the moon.

Paragon, which has partnered with NASA in previous experiments on the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station, calls it a "Lunar Oasis".