Information PendingPrincipal Investigator(s)
ACTA University, Amsterdam, , Netherlands
European Space Agency (ESA)Sponsoring Organization
Information PendingResearch Benefits
Information PendingISS Expedition Duration:
October 2003 - October 2004Expeditions Assigned
8,9Previous ISS Missions
The main goal of this student experiment is to involve as many students as possible in and effort to show that science is fun through a plant growth experiment called Seeds in Space. The educational / scientific objectives of the experiment are: To demonstrate the influence of gravity on the germination and growth of plants to young people (10 to 15 year olds) and others. By engaging in the comparable on-ground experiment, students will experience that science is fun and that the weightless environment of space opens new possibilities. The experiment kit will be distributed one month before launch to schools or other distribution channels.
Information PendingEarth Applications
Information PendingOperational Protocols
The main purpose of this education/ demonstration experiment is to clearly show that plants respond to gravity by a directed growth (experiments on ground) and that they will show a non-preferential or disoriented growth direction when grown in the dark in weightlessness. The in-flight part of the experiment will consist of folding rockets with simple plant growth chambers in which Rucola seeds germinate either with or without light. Crew will setup the growth chamber, initiating seed germination by watering the seeds on the supporting filter paper using a standard 30-ml needleless syringe with luer lock stopcock. Crew will monitor the growth once a day. Since there is no in-flight experience with the proposed plants (species Rucola, rocket lettuce), we require three sets of cultures to be initiated on three consecutive days in flight. The duration for one plant culture is expected to be 3-4 days. Depending on the date and time for the live in flight call we need to initiate the seed germination 3, 4 and 5 days before. The best of the 3 sets will be used for the live video-audio connection.
Kimoto Y, Yamagata I, Ishizawa J, Miyazaki E, Baba N, Kato M. Japanese Space Materials Exposure Experiment Utilizing International Space Station. 57th International Astronautical Congress, Valencia, Spain; 2006
Colla G, Battistelli A, Proietti S, Moscatello S, Rouphael Y, Cardarelli M, Casucci M. Rocket seedling production on the International Space Station: Growth and Nutritional properties. Microgravity Science and Technology. 2007; XIX(5/6): 118-121. DOI: 10.1007/BF02919465.
Tepfer D, Zalar A, Leach S. Survival of Plant Seeds, Their UV Screens, and nptII DNA for 18 Months Outside the International Space Station. Astrobiology. 2012; 12(5): 517-528. DOI: 10.1089/ast.2011.0744. PMID: 22680697.