Researchers at the French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea are behind plans for potentially raising seabass and meagre on the moon, Hakai magazine reports.

Aquaculture researcher Cyrille Przybyla is shooting for the stars with his dream of a lunar fish farm served by water found on the moon to help feed astronauts on a future base.

The so-called Lunar Hatch project is one of around 300 projects currently under evaluation by the European Space Agency (ESA).

In October, the National Aeronautic and Space Administration's (NASA) Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) confirmed for the first time that there is water on the sunlit surface of the moon. The discovery indicates that water may be distributed across the lunar surface, and not limited to cold, shadowed places.

A recent simulation using 200 eggs replicated the intense shaking of the typical takeoff sequence of a Russian Soyuz rocket, demonstrating seabass and meagre eggs can survive the ordeal intact.

Eggs were chosen instead of fish because of their perceived robustness. Hatching rates were close to those of eggs that have not been shaken by the takeoff of a space rocket.

Likewise, the two fish species based were selected because of their modest oxygen requirements, low carbon dioxide output and a short hatching time.

Researchers are keen to understand whether invertebrates such as mussels and shrimp might turn out to be more space-worthy than fish because they require less space and provide a greater caloric intake.